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Reduction/Schedule Changes in Premium Transcontinental Flights Starting Nov 2020

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Reduction/Schedule Changes in Premium Transcontinental Flights Starting Nov 2020

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Old Nov 30, 2020, 12:02 pm
  #91  
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Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
Unconfirmed rumors ahoy! Courtesy of JonNYC

https://twitter.com/xJonNYC/status/1333474961890156546

That's... not surprising if true.
So they're going to start running Oasis A321s with standard domestic F- on premium transcon flights? Somehow I doubt even AA could be that stupid.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 12:07 pm
  #92  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
So they're going to start running Oasis A321s with standard domestic F- on premium transcon flights? Somehow I doubt even AA could be that stupid.
No, it’d just remove a subfleet and they’d run them anywhere in the network. But in turn hopefully they’d follow DL and at least put widebodies on the routes since AA doesn’t have any narrowbodies left with lie flats.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 12:13 pm
  #93  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
So they're going to start running Oasis A321s with standard domestic F- on premium transcon flights? Somehow I doubt even AA could be that stupid.
No, as mentioned, I think what would happen is AA would run widebodies on the premium routes (which is what AA, UA and DL are doing right now) and give up the 321T subfleet- turn it back to Oasis planes. 788s/789s might make some sense here. AA is running them on routes to places like CUN. Surely they could run them on JFK-SFO/LAX?

The thing is a three class 321 with a seating capacity of 102 in a market where premium corporate traffic has dropped off some probably doesn't make a ton of sense...
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 12:17 pm
  #94  
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Interesting. Unless they were to run 77Ws this would remove the F product from JFK-LAX.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 12:24 pm
  #95  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
Interesting. Unless they were to run 77Ws this would remove the F product from JFK-LAX.
Yes. I have my skepticism that Flagship F transcon was anything more than "employee standby/SWU from J/award class" anyway. Look at how willing LH/SQ/CX have been to pull longhaul F from US markets. Look at everyone and their uncle dumping jumbos (save EK) with the biggest F cabins. Look at how UA and DL have basically gone "nope" about three-class F.

AA might well make more money with a J/Y+/Y layout for premium transcon (basically back to the future, except the three cabins will be more cramped, but with better lie-flats in 788/789 J than an old 762 in F).
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 1:24 pm
  #96  
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I'll definitely miss the A321Ts if they go away-- in better times when load factors were high, boarding a flight with only 100 or so other passengers was always a pleasure (fast, and less issues with late boarders finding overhead space)... that being said, reduced schedule options aside I've enjoyed the 772s on LAX-JFK lately... since a guaranteed Premium Economy seat obviously beats row 11 on the A321T any day.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 1:34 pm
  #97  
 
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I will miss the A321T if this rumor is true. I would go out of my way to fly on it, for the great seat and Flagship lounge/dining (pre-Covid).
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 1:42 pm
  #98  
 
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Spending money now to rip out interiors for densified flight products seems like folly.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 1:45 pm
  #99  
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At the moment only 3/17 of the A321T is flying so it makes sense for AA to reconfigure some of these aircraft.

Also, a reminder that AA would receive more Airbus A321neo's in the future and Airbus A321XLR's where some of them could be in a business-heavy configuration when demand recovers.

I would also have a question, isn't there any wide-body gates at SFO that AA could utilize at the new Terminal 1? I don't recall AA operating a wide-body to SFO despite the route.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 2:11 pm
  #100  
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Originally Posted by ISTFlyer
I would also have a question, isn't there any wide-body gates at SFO that AA could utilize at the new Terminal 1? I don't recall AA operating a wide-body to SFO despite the route.
I don't think there have been since they moved, at least nothing regular. AA used to use widebody aircraft to SFO all the time.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 2:15 pm
  #101  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
I don't think there have been since they moved, at least nothing regular. AA used to use widebody aircraft to SFO all the time.
Yes, I was mentioning wide-body since the move to the new terminal.
I remember DFW-SFO flights operating on 787's and SFO-PHL flights on 330's last year.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 4:17 pm
  #102  
 
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Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
Yes. I have my skepticism that Flagship F transcon was anything more than "employee standby/SWU from J/award class" anyway. Look at how willing LH/SQ/CX have been to pull longhaul F from US markets. Look at everyone and their uncle dumping jumbos (save EK) with the biggest F cabins. Look at how UA and DL have basically gone "nope" about three-class F.

AA might well make more money with a J/Y+/Y layout for premium transcon (basically back to the future, except the three cabins will be more cramped, but with better lie-flats in 788/789 J than an old 762 in F).
I think I read somewhere that a number of Hollywood contracts specify travel in 3-cabin F when available, so LAX-JFK may have had a lot of paid F traffic.

I will miss the 321T if it goes away. Quick boarding/disembarking, lots of flights. But yeah, I'm not seeing how a 102-seat plane with 30 J/F seats works if there's significantly reduced business travel.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 6:27 pm
  #103  
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Originally Posted by ISTFlyer
At the moment only 3/17 of the A321T is flying so it makes sense for AA to reconfigure some of these aircraft.
I personally think the size of the A321T F cabin is too big compared to actual demand even prior to Covid... they should consider reducing the cabin to 4-6 F seats, put a few J seats behind it and then reduce the size of the current J cabin to allow for more Y seats
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 6:36 pm
  #104  
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Originally Posted by fly747first
I personally think the size of the A321T F cabin is too big compared to actual demand even prior to Covid... they should consider reducing the cabin to 4-6 F seats, put a few J seats behind it and then reduce the size of the current J cabin to allow for more Y seats
I agree. I think the goal was to have that area north of the 2L door to be all F, but on an aircraft that small it is a very large cabin. I agree though, shortening the F cabin to like 4F or 6F is probably the best move, then split the J cabin north and south of 2L and expand the Y cabin.

I don’t necessarily agree with removing F all together. It’s one of the few things AA still has that separates it from competitors, many of which are superior, at least normally.
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Old Nov 30, 2020, 6:44 pm
  #105  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
I agree. I think the goal was to have that area north of the 2L door to be all F, but on an aircraft that small it is a very large cabin. I agree though, shortening the F cabin to like 4F or 6F is probably the best move, then split the J cabin north and south of 2L and expand the Y cabin.

I don’t necessarily agree with removing F all together. It’s one of the few things AA still has that separates it from competitors, many of which are superior, at least normally.
Sadly, it seems that AA didn't learn a lot from the many years they had 16F or 18F (oldest coffin config) on the 772s and getting these cabins mostly filled with nonrevs and upgraders. A few years ago, they finally came to their senses and reduced the cabin to 8F on their 77Ws orders. I always thought it was weird to have the A321Ts with more F seats than the 77Ws.
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