New direct (nonstop) flights from AUS (Austin, TX)
Jun 12, 2021, 9:27 am
#91
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: CoUniHound 1K 1MM, AA EXP 2MM, DL Plat, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,625
Pre-pandemic I traveled out of AUS nearly every Monday and I found upgrades as a moderate spend EXP to be extremely difficult. As a 1K I experienced the same on UA. As mentioned above, upgrade lists were very long, even for the >500m flights to ORD and CLT. Lots of paid business tickets for people connecting to international flights through DFW and ORD.
Jun 12, 2021, 12:49 pm
#92
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,405
I was wondering the same! Though at least for the OKC flight, it's poorly timed for connections (8 PM arrival into AUS from what I saw). Would definitely be cool to be able to fly OKC-AUS-LIR or something like that though.
Jun 12, 2021, 7:41 pm
#94
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: AUS
Programs: AA Exec Platinum/MM, DL Gold/MM, Hilton Diamond, Accor Platinum, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 6,960
It's been a few years since I lived in Austin but the AC and United Club there were both deserted every time I flew. AUS is a leisure destination for most, and many employees at places like Apple, Amazon, and Oracle will probably never travel en masse again. I also got upgraded nearly every time I flew even on UA with just Silver status (equivalent of AA Gold, but no silly 500 mile upgrades on UA). It's not much of a business hub.
Jun 12, 2021, 7:43 pm
#95
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,809
Interesting to say the least. Is AUS officially a focus city yet?
With the amount of folks fleeing places like NY and CA I’d only expect further growth. That said, it’s nice to see AA being innovative for a change.
This must be the highest amount of natural non-hub growth since the 90s or earlier.
With the amount of folks fleeing places like NY and CA I’d only expect further growth. That said, it’s nice to see AA being innovative for a change.
This must be the highest amount of natural non-hub growth since the 90s or earlier.
Jun 13, 2021, 10:06 am
#96
Join Date: Apr 2019
Programs: None
Posts: 105
Interesting to say the least. Is AUS officially a focus city yet?
With the amount of folks fleeing places like NY and CA I’d only expect further growth. That said, it’s nice to see AA being innovative for a change.
This must be the highest amount of natural non-hub growth since the 90s or earlier.
With the amount of folks fleeing places like NY and CA I’d only expect further growth. That said, it’s nice to see AA being innovative for a change.
This must be the highest amount of natural non-hub growth since the 90s or earlier.
"Despite all the new flights, American isn’t ready to call Austin a “focus city.” Airline spokesperson Brian Metahm told TPG that there are “no changes to how we view Austin.” Metham also confirmed that no existing routes are getting cut to make room for the new flights."
Focus city from an outside perspective? Sure.
Jun 22, 2021, 7:21 am
#97
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 200
Looks like one of the CVG flights has already been cut. I haven't gone through multiple weeks of the schedule, but I was booked on the early flight to CVG and it no longer appears to be running. My flight change notice (a connection thru CLT) arrived today. Wonderful
Jun 22, 2021, 7:54 am
#98
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: MSP/BUF/BNA/LFT
Programs: AA Plat, Priority Club Gold, Choice Privileges Gold
Posts: 1,224
I read on CF that this was a mistake. AA meant to cancel the flight for one specific day but cancelled the entire sequence. Don't accept the change because the flight will supposedly be back next week.
Jun 30, 2021, 9:32 am
#101
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 200
Sep 1, 2021, 8:18 pm
#102
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: Choice Hotels
Posts: 762
I am not sure if this is representative of the entire AUS experiment, a simple lack of interest in the OKC flight, or a lack of bookings this fall due to Covid-19, but I was able to purchase a r/t ticket OKC-AUS-OKC in late October, leaving on Sunday and coming back on Wednesday, for $117. Below is what the seat map looked like on both flights when I selected my seats, despite what appears to be very low fares on the route. Not good!
Also, google flight search is giving me a lot of strange double-connections through AUS and another hub which are generally cheaper than any other option. This leads me to believe that AA is having to deeply discount to get butts in seats on these routes.
Also, google flight search is giving me a lot of strange double-connections through AUS and another hub which are generally cheaper than any other option. This leads me to believe that AA is having to deeply discount to get butts in seats on these routes.
Sep 1, 2021, 9:49 pm
#103
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: ORD, sadly...
Programs: AA Exec Plat
Posts: 599
I am not sure if this is representative of the entire AUS experiment, a simple lack of interest in the OKC flight, or a lack of bookings this fall due to Covid-19, but I was able to purchase a r/t ticket OKC-AUS-OKC in late October, leaving on Sunday and coming back on Wednesday, for $117. Below is what the seat map looked like on both flights when I selected my seats, despite what appears to be very low fares on the route. Not good!
Also, google flight search is giving me a lot of strange double-connections through AUS and another hub which are generally cheaper than any other option. This leads me to believe that AA is having to deeply discount to get butts in seats on these routes.
Also, google flight search is giving me a lot of strange double-connections through AUS and another hub which are generally cheaper than any other option. This leads me to believe that AA is having to deeply discount to get butts in seats on these routes.
Sep 2, 2021, 6:41 am
#104
Join Date: Jan 2021
Posts: 540
I am not sure if this is representative of the entire AUS experiment, a simple lack of interest in the OKC flight, or a lack of bookings this fall due to Covid-19, but I was able to purchase a r/t ticket OKC-AUS-OKC in late October, leaving on Sunday and coming back on Wednesday, for $117. Below is what the seat map looked like on both flights when I selected my seats, despite what appears to be very low fares on the route. Not good!
Also, google flight search is giving me a lot of strange double-connections through AUS and another hub which are generally cheaper than any other option. This leads me to believe that AA is having to deeply discount to get butts in seats on these routes.
Also, google flight search is giving me a lot of strange double-connections through AUS and another hub which are generally cheaper than any other option. This leads me to believe that AA is having to deeply discount to get butts in seats on these routes.
AA thought they were geniuses creating all these leisure routes to get ahead of Spirit and Frontier at AUS, and then the delta variant happened and interest in tourism in the south plummeted.
Sep 2, 2021, 9:55 am
#105
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,484
No one believed me when I said that these are pure leisure routes and AUS doesn't have enough business travelers to make these routes sustainable.
AA thought they were geniuses creating all these leisure routes to get ahead of Spirit and Frontier at AUS, and then the delta variant happened and interest in tourism in the south plummeted.
AA thought they were geniuses creating all these leisure routes to get ahead of Spirit and Frontier at AUS, and then the delta variant happened and interest in tourism in the south plummeted.
I'm scheduled to take one of these point-to-point routes next month, and another in November. The prices are very attractive (though nothing like the $112 quoted for OKC). I'd be interested to see how bookings look over fall break and other school holiday weekends.