VFR

B6 actually restored their IROPS interline agreement with AA at the beginning of this year, so if something goes wrong... you might end up flying AA in coach!

FlyDeltaMD88

Ah interesting. Thanks for the clarification. It will be interesting to see how it plays out as I possibly see B6 sending more passengers over to AA than vice versa, except for B6 markets where they are larger than AA such as JFK, FLL, BOS, MCO etc.

dls25

Having an interline agreement does not mean B6 will actually use it. I have not heard of any instances yet where B6 actually rebooked anyone on a different carrier.

VFR

Shame you have to re-clear security to get from the AA gates to the B6 gates in JFK and BOS (they are building a B-C connector in BOS). If B6 builds up LAX, it could potentially be quite useful for folks in LAX too.

They might be waiting for the broader AA/B6 agreement to be finalized. I have heard that B6 is excited to be able to rebook folks on a legacy when things go wrong.

JALOO5-Flyer

I was once rebooked onto a B6 LAX-EWR because AS canceled my original LAX-EWR flight one night before and could not offer an alternative nonstop option on AS. If the same happens to B6 and another carrier could provide similar service, then they might book onto another carrier.

If irrops is a huge concern, I think OP should do some search on what flights are available on the same day on AA and B6 flying into AUA, and if there's really an option that gets OP to AUA without an overnight. For instance, for today Dec 9th, the latest departure from the US to AUA is the 12pm MIA-AUA flight, which means in the case of irrops OP still needs to get to Miami before 11:30 am, otherwise an overnight in NYC or an AA hub, which does not present much flexibility. On the other hand, B6's direct flight has fewer of these issues because JFK as a B6 hub has backup aircraft (if it went mechanical) and if there's a weather condition, nonstop will get me more assured.
Travel experience-wise, I'll go for AA, for larger seats, lounge if eligible, fewer people surrounding, point-earning on Oneworld, etc.

cheltzel

I just saw this thread and started looking at the flying options for flying NYC to AUA.

There is a pretty low cost option to fly AA NS from LGA to AUA. It means flying exclusively on AA606/AA2748 that operate only on Saturdays. But you can get nonstop business class between LGA and AUA for $565.55

Bookable via Google Flights. I am seeing this fare basically every Saturday (usually at least 3 Saturdays each month) starting Jan 9 and continues through mid March where it goes up to ~$575.and up to ~$612 in April.

mvoight

Either way, you will need a COVID test. If Aruba lets you do it after arrival, I would not recommend going that route.
If you test positive, then than it is better to know your status before you fly.

sethweinstein

Interesting thoughts about the interlining (of which I wasn't aware); thanks for all the discussion and advice. I've made the decision to go with AA as I do think the overall experience will be better; I don't mind the extra flying time and I don't want to leave so early in the morning (although I agree once I'm on the plane and fall asleep again, it's out of mind).

Thanks and yes, I do this regularly. There's an earlier set of flights on the same routing, which could be an option if it looks like there might be weather-related delays, or I could position myself to get to CLT the night before or from PHL or something like that.

For such a cheap business fare (I class), it's probably better to credit to AS for 150% of actual miles flown, correct? I value AS miles highly.

I wonder whether this is a new addition to the schedule. I booked the outbound before I booked the inbound, and I didn't remember seeing AA nonstops a couple weeks ago. I'm coming back on a Saturday and suddenly this nonstop started appearing as an option for my date (January 2). But it's much more expensive than my booking back through CLT (which was $140 -- a $62 base fare -- plus I picked a couple MCE seats).

Yup, I did a test run this week with a place that delivered results in 33 hours. Hopefully it'll be the same when I go again next week. The test on arrival is a last resort, but it's nice to know it's an option.

Seth