Speculation: Will AA continue to pull back in NYC?
#691
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: KARB
Programs: DL 2MM
Posts: 26,981
On the other hand, starting sometime in April/May, AA is drawing JFK-BOS down to a pathetic once daily flight that is poorly timed to connect with international service at JFK. JFK-BOS leaves after 10pm while BOS-JFK leaves in the early morning. What purpose does that single flight serve if it doesn't feed any international flights at JFK?
#692




Join Date: May 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 8,120
Selfishly this is the main reason I bemoan the reductions on this route as a BOS resident. I prefer to connect in JFK over MIA when going to SA, for the shorter domestic hop and longer overnight flight. The reductions basically force me to MIA (or DFW) for all SA itineraries.
#693




Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/SNA
Programs: AA, AF
Posts: 2,006
It certainly serves a niche O&D customer base and exists without regard to AA's planning for connecting traffic flows. Was absent for a while and was a big deal for many when it came back.
#694




Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: New York
Programs: AA EXP 1.0mm, not sure where I am with hotels these days
Posts: 2,822
On the other hand, starting sometime in April/May, AA is drawing JFK-BOS down to a pathetic once daily flight that is poorly timed to connect with international service at JFK. JFK-BOS leaves after 10pm while BOS-JFK leaves in the early morning. What purpose does that single flight serve if it doesn't feed any international flights at JFK?
#695
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines




Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,393
LAS also permanently goes down to two daily flights. SAN/SEA goes down to 1x daily.
Side note - flying between PIT/JFK to connect to TATL flight is very frustrating. AA charges more to fly PIT-JFK to connect to a TATL flight even though the flight loads are very poor on this route. For our upcoming trip to LHR, we are connecting in DCA on the outbound to JFK

I suppose this is what happens when you lose economics of scale necessitating to charge a premium to make the "hub" profitable.
Side note 2 - AA is now definitely feeling the squeeze at PHL operationally after rebanking PHL (eliminated two banks and made the remaining ones bigger) and trying to make PHL the main TATL hub where there are severe infrastructure limitations. On our PIT-PHL flights its becoming more common that we have to sit on the tarmac at PIT because there is no gate or space to park at PHL if we arrive early.
Last edited by golfingboy; Apr 7, 2019 at 11:32 am
#696
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: PIT
Posts: 759
..............
Side note - flying between PIT/JFK to connect to TATL flight is very frustrating. AA charges more to fly PIT-JFK to connect to a TATL flight even though the flight loads are very poor on this route. For our upcoming trip to LHR, we are connecting in DCA on the outbound to JFK
I suppose this is what happens when you lose economics of scale necessitating to charge a premium to make the "hub" profitable.
Side note 2 - AA is now definitely feeling the squeeze at PHL operationally after rebanking PHL (eliminated two banks and made the remaining ones bigger) and trying to make PHL the main TATL hub where there are severe infrastructure limitations. On our PIT-PHL flights its becoming more common that we have to sit on the tarmac at PIT because there is no gate or space to park at PHL if we arrive early.
Side note - flying between PIT/JFK to connect to TATL flight is very frustrating. AA charges more to fly PIT-JFK to connect to a TATL flight even though the flight loads are very poor on this route. For our upcoming trip to LHR, we are connecting in DCA on the outbound to JFK

I suppose this is what happens when you lose economics of scale necessitating to charge a premium to make the "hub" profitable.
Side note 2 - AA is now definitely feeling the squeeze at PHL operationally after rebanking PHL (eliminated two banks and made the remaining ones bigger) and trying to make PHL the main TATL hub where there are severe infrastructure limitations. On our PIT-PHL flights its becoming more common that we have to sit on the tarmac at PIT because there is no gate or space to park at PHL if we arrive early.
The statement : " AA is definitely feeling the squeeze at PHL operationally after rebanking" is a personal and refutable opinion.
If there were "severe infrastructure limitations" at PHL, AA would have abandoned it, not bulked it up into its now "main TATL Hub".
Delaying the departure of a flight that would arrive earlier than scheduled and tie up a gate that was scheduled for an on-time arrival is very typical at most Hubs, such as JFK, LAX, ORD, etc.. It's called schedule/gate management.
#697
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Arriving at JFK this evening was truly sad....not a single AE plane in the regional gates and a handful of mainline planes to be seen.....terminal was a virtual ghost town at 730pm
#698
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
Yup..from my experience of taking CX865 frequently, by 9pm it's mostly "Qatar Airways paging XXX" and the terminal seems to have nothing to do with AA.
#699
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: PIT
Posts: 759
. During the next downturn, the typical churn will occur. PHL will be turned into a regional Hub. JFK will return as AA's premier International Hub, with flights to every city on earth. Liz Taylor and RIchard Burton will even rise up, sip a glass of Chateau Patris and nibble on a plate of Couscous in the Terminal 8 Flagship Lounge.
#700


Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,607
Ugh, looks like the 7am AA33 JFK-LAX (and it's return), which was scheduled into July / August, has been removed again (at least temporarily); I got to see if I can get onto AA1 at 8am, rather than AA171 at 6am (& an ungodly 4am wake-up...).
#701
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott LT Plat | Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 13,299
this is predicated on the assumption that management knows what it is doing. Considering that DL is making it rain, while AA's filings are ghastly (they're clinging to profitability due to the credit card business), I dont think this is a very good assumption.
#702
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
MIA is also a mess in the late afternoon/early evenings. Landing early in particular means a trip into the area of unwanted planes. I live in MIA and as the minutes tick and tick away I can see the stress level rising as connections are getting tighter and tighter as the Captain keeps telling us that he's still waiting for the gate to become unoccupied. Since AA can blame missed connections (often the only/last one to SA, CA, the Caribbean) on airport flow, AA can tell paxs to make and pay for their own hotel and meal arrangements. (Possibly CKs/EXPs making a trip to the AC might find different). I don't think Parker and company really care. They'd rather have the financial upside of banked hubs with little concern about the pax.
The moral of the story is sadly that anything less than a 90 minute connection at MIA can be problematic.
More OT, I was looking at the board in the JFK AC the other day. Europe seems to be down to MAD, BCN, CDG, MXP and LHR. I wonder if BCN is at risk of going to PHL. I think the other ones will stick. SA seemed to be GRU, SCL, and EZE. I assume those will stick, particularly GRU and EZE. IIRC the only Caribbean destination seemed to be BDA.
The moral of the story is sadly that anything less than a 90 minute connection at MIA can be problematic.
More OT, I was looking at the board in the JFK AC the other day. Europe seems to be down to MAD, BCN, CDG, MXP and LHR. I wonder if BCN is at risk of going to PHL. I think the other ones will stick. SA seemed to be GRU, SCL, and EZE. I assume those will stick, particularly GRU and EZE. IIRC the only Caribbean destination seemed to be BDA.
#703


Join Date: May 2013
Location: LHR
Programs: AA EXP, DL DM, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,056
MIA is also a mess in the late afternoon/early evenings. Landing early in particular means a trip into the area of unwanted planes. I live in MIA and as the minutes tick and tick away I can see the stress level rising as connections are getting tighter and tighter as the Captain keeps telling us that he's still waiting for the gate to become unoccupied. Since AA can blame missed connections (often the only/last one to SA, CA, the Caribbean) on airport flow, AA can tell paxs to make and pay for their own hotel and meal arrangements. (Possibly CKs/EXPs making a trip to the AC might find different). I don't think Parker and company really care. They'd rather have the financial upside of banked hubs with little concern about the pax.
The moral of the story is sadly that anything less than a 90 minute connection at MIA can be problematic.
More OT, I was looking at the board in the JFK AC the other day. Europe seems to be down to MAD, BCN, CDG, MXP and LHR. I wonder if BCN is at risk of going to PHL. I think the other ones will stick. SA seemed to be GRU, SCL, and EZE. I assume those will stick, particularly GRU and EZE. IIRC the only Caribbean destination seemed to be BDA.
The moral of the story is sadly that anything less than a 90 minute connection at MIA can be problematic.
More OT, I was looking at the board in the JFK AC the other day. Europe seems to be down to MAD, BCN, CDG, MXP and LHR. I wonder if BCN is at risk of going to PHL. I think the other ones will stick. SA seemed to be GRU, SCL, and EZE. I assume those will stick, particularly GRU and EZE. IIRC the only Caribbean destination seemed to be BDA.
#704


Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 2,944
MIA is also a mess in the late afternoon/early evenings. Landing early in particular means a trip into the area of unwanted planes. I live in MIA and as the minutes tick and tick away I can see the stress level rising as connections are getting tighter and tighter as the Captain keeps telling us that he's still waiting for the gate to become unoccupied. Since AA can blame missed connections (often the only/last one to SA, CA, the Caribbean) on airport flow, AA can tell paxs to make and pay for their own hotel and meal arrangements. (Possibly CKs/EXPs making a trip to the AC might find different). I don't think Parker and company really care. They'd rather have the financial upside of banked hubs with little concern about the pax.
The moral of the story is sadly that anything less than a 90 minute connection at MIA can be problematic.
More OT, I was looking at the board in the JFK AC the other day. Europe seems to be down to MAD, BCN, CDG, MXP and LHR. I wonder if BCN is at risk of going to PHL. I think the other ones will stick. SA seemed to be GRU, SCL, and EZE. I assume those will stick, particularly GRU and EZE. IIRC the only Caribbean destination seemed to be BDA.
The moral of the story is sadly that anything less than a 90 minute connection at MIA can be problematic.
More OT, I was looking at the board in the JFK AC the other day. Europe seems to be down to MAD, BCN, CDG, MXP and LHR. I wonder if BCN is at risk of going to PHL. I think the other ones will stick. SA seemed to be GRU, SCL, and EZE. I assume those will stick, particularly GRU and EZE. IIRC the only Caribbean destination seemed to be BDA.
#705
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
They also have FCO for Europe and a bunch of seasonal Caribbean flights (some may be weekly rather than daily). I could see MXP eventually moving to PHL solely due to the amount of airlines on that route (DL, EK, Air Italy, AZ from JFK + UA from EWR), but I'm not sure if they would move any other Europe flights to PHL for a 2nd daily or just discontinue them from JFK and maintain PHL at its existing level for that city.

