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JFK-ZRH Summer 2018

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Old Sep 19, 2017, 6:55 am
  #1  
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JFK-ZRH Summer 2018

Looking to book direct flights to Zurich next summer. Currently all options involve London. When does AA load the ZRH flight. It shows as an option close-in but not for next summer. Any insight would be appreciated.
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Old Sep 19, 2017, 6:57 am
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They won't. It is going to be transitioned back to PHL-ZRH starting next year.
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Old Nov 18, 2017, 9:18 am
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jfk-zrh

As a long time flyer jfk-zrh I am really annoyed with this further deterioration in AA service. Beyond that it is impossible to imagine the rationale of giving up service between these banking, insurance and pharma centers.
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Old Nov 18, 2017, 1:29 pm
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JFK is slot controlled during the time of day when almost all TATL flights depart (late-afternoon through early evening). Evidently, AA management decided that the JFK prime-time departure slot would be more valuable if assigned to a different route.
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Old Nov 18, 2017, 6:24 pm
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Fly Delta people....they are committed to the NYC market and AA is not. DL moved their flight from ATL to JFK to appeal to the corporate market and they won as usual. Who is flying Philly to ZRH outside of connections? Plus DL actually equips their planes with in-seat AVOD which apparently AA is on a crusade against.
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Last edited by AANYC1981; Nov 20, 2017 at 8:26 am
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 12:00 pm
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The reliability of the JFK-ZRH-JFK route this year has left a lot to be desired. If PHL (and PHL based aircraft) helps, then I see AA's image here in Switzerland improving.
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 1:05 pm
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Don't forget that AA is also competing against Swiss on that route that offers three daily flight ZRH-NYC (2x JFK plus 1x EWR, conveniently timed through the day) plus one GVA-JFK (all on own metal) and in addition another ZRH-EWR codeshare with United. It might be reasonable to pull out of this market, they probably had mostly connecting passengers already now (for whom it wont make a big difference whether they connect in JFK or PHL).
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 2:30 pm
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FWIW, there's more discussion about the repositioning of the ZRH flight, and AA's cutbacks at JFK in general in this thread:
Speculation: Will AA continue to pull back in NYC?
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 6:32 pm
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I've flown (nonstop) AA64 between jfk and zrh lots of times, many were delayed 1+ hours; also since AA65 (zrh-jfk) uses AA64's plane on the return, that flt is also delayed. Is there any reason to assume that PHL-ZRH-PHL have a better on time record?
If I can't fly between JFK and ZRH NON-STOP, connecting through LHR (a horrible option) would still be better than PHL, since there are lots of LHR-ZRH-LHR flts. vs flying from LGA to PHL and finding my flt to ZRH was cancelled.
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 7:50 pm
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Originally Posted by nrr
I've flown (nonstop) AA64 between jfk and zrh lots of times, many were delayed 1+ hours; also since AA65 (zrh-jfk) uses AA64's plane on the return, that flt is also delayed. Is there any reason to assume that PHL-ZRH-PHL have a better on time record?
If I can't fly between JFK and ZRH NON-STOP, connecting through LHR (a horrible option) would still be better than PHL, since there are lots of LHR-ZRH-LHR flts. vs flying from LGA to PHL and finding my flt to ZRH was cancelled.

Ive done the back and forth once, primarily for a trip to Salzburg and Vienna. The check-in and luggage drop off at ZRH left a lot to be desired. We arrived at the airport about 2.5 hours ahead of departure and had to deal with a very inexperienced check-in team for J travelers. Had no chance for the club and in fact the flight just began boarding when we arrived at the gate. Even without this change we would use another city to connect heading east.

Last edited by george 3; Nov 19, 2017 at 7:55 pm
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 8:00 pm
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Originally Posted by nrr
I've flown (nonstop) AA64 between jfk and zrh lots of times, many were delayed 1+ hours; also since AA65 (zrh-jfk) uses AA64's plane on the return, that flt is also delayed. Is there any reason to assume that PHL-ZRH-PHL have a better on time record?
The reason to believe that the reliability of the flights will be better out of PHL is that AA will be basing the majority of their 767s out of PHL and MIA.

The reliability issues for the 767 flights are based on a confluence of factors:

1. Maintenance breakdowns requiring planes to be removed from service for short periods to be repaired.

2. Diffusion of the 767 fleet across multiple hubs (MIA, JFK, ORD, etc.)

3. Therefore, spare planes out of position as 767s break down and rotate through hubs.

the idea is that by consolidating 767 flying as much as possible at PHL and MIA, the fleet utilization won’t be as stretched thin, meaning spares are more readily available in the event of maintenance issues.
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 8:00 pm
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Originally Posted by nrr
I've flown (nonstop) AA64 between jfk and zrh lots of times, many were delayed 1+ hours; also since AA65 (zrh-jfk) uses AA64's plane on the return, that flt is also delayed. Is there any reason to assume that PHL-ZRH-PHL have a better on time record?
If I can't fly between JFK and ZRH NON-STOP, connecting through LHR (a horrible option) would still be better than PHL, since there are lots of LHR-ZRH-LHR flts. vs flying from LGA to PHL and finding my flt to ZRH was cancelled.
WIth AA using the older 763s on PHL-ZRH rather than the A330-200 like the last time time they served it, it’s tough to tell how reliable it will be. However, with the 763 also operating LIS, AMS, PRG, ZRH, etc next summer, there will likely be more 767s to swap to, and maybe even a spare, in PHL as a backup as they’ve had with the A330 in the past.

That said, if you’re planning to fly LGA-PHL to connect, that’s where you’re more likely to see a cancel or delay. I’d take the train in that case, as I have in the inverse to EWR and JFK for nonstops to Asia in the past. Or better yet, fly LX (Swiss) rather than AA.
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 8:05 pm
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Originally Posted by phlwookie

That said, if you’re planning to fly LGA-PHL to connect, that’s where you’re more likely to see a cancel or delay. I’d take the train in that case, as I have in the inverse to EWR and JFK for nonstops to Asia in the past. Or better yet, fly LX (Swiss) rather than AA.
I think AA is making a mistake thinking NYC metro residents will be eager to fly LGA to PHL to fly TATL. I’d rather connect in Europe, even if it means flying another airline.
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 8:21 pm
  #14  
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Originally Posted by george 3
I think AA is making a mistake thinking NYC metro residents will be eager to fly LGA to PHL to fly TATL. I’d rather connect in Europe, even if it means flying another airline.
I expect AA understands they're conceding most of the NYC-ZRH market to LX, UA, and DL.
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Old Nov 20, 2017, 11:24 am
  #15  
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Originally Posted by george 3
I think AA is making a mistake thinking NYC metro residents will be eager to fly LGA to PHL to fly TATL. I’d rather connect in Europe, even if it means flying another airline.
I don't know about that. As someone posted earlier, they would avoid connecting LHR. As would I. I would also rather connect PHL then CDG.
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