AA buys LHR slot for $31 million from Cyprus Airways

In a metal-neutral JV, why does it matter who operates the route?  
 
Operationally and slot-wise, it probably matters, but certainly not for a marketing or revenue standpoint.
because AA employees do not work on BA flights.

DL employees work on DL, not AF flights

etc etc
 
doesn't DL employees work the AF flight in ATL?   I do know yrs ago at BWI  the US folks worked the BA flight during the wet lease program  
 
from a ground handling perspective, so far as I know.

I'm talking pilots and FAs. There is no US airline that I know of that has crewmembers of other carriers working their flights.

Thus, metal neutral does not necessarily mean the same for employees or even customers.
 
from a ground handling perspective, so far as I know.

I'm talking pilots and FAs. There is no US airline that I know of that has crewmembers of other carriers working their flights.

Thus, metal neutral does not necessarily mean the same for employees or even customers.
I remember American flight attendants worked Alaska Airlines metal on flights from DFW to SEA in the early nineties. These were flights on our bid sheets. Cannot remember if the pilots were American or Alaskan Airlines. Did not like working them as we had to run everything, they had no service carts.
 
I have heard that US crews used to fly the 76 during the Wet Lease program but the plane was in BA colors  
 
Correct, US Airways/British Airways and Alaska Airlines/American Airlines used to have crew interchange programs.
 
... as DID the DL/Swissair/Sabena alliance.

I don't believe any US airline alliance currently involves crew interchanges which means that routes flown by an alliance partner is work not done by a carrier.

Further, I'm not sure that any route operated as part of a JV actually reaches a true 50/50% division of revenue. The idea of these JVs is that one carrier is stronger on one route while another is stronger on another and in some cases there is a proportionate sharing of revenue and sometimes profits for the alliance as a whole and sometimes the connections associated with it based on the revenue contribution by each carrier.

Thus, while JVs are the closest thing to a revenue merger and providing access to routes that can't be flown by one carrier, they still do not duplicate operating a route on one's own metal if that is a possibility.
 
All that's great, but avoiding the topic.

If BOS-LHR is a JV market, then AA has service. It isn't operated by AA, but aside from Josh, customers don't seem to care whose airplane it is. Considering its a route AA had to drop service on to gain ATI approval, arguing over it is a bit specious.
 
they do care, because if they did, there would be equal levels of customers on each route.

but there aren't.

AA doesn't serve BOS-LHR with its own metal and they also don't serve SFO-LHR or SEA-LHR.

AA doesn't have service from BOS or any other west coast gateway to LHR or for that matter any other longhaul int'l destination.

I get the whole JV thing as far as shared revenues.

But jobs are not equally shared. Terminals and benefits are not the same for all JV flights.

Whose metal the flight is on does matter.
 
The bigger issue perhaps is that too many people on a.net have not turned the corner and realized that the aviation market is changing and DL is leading the change.

There is no viable financial reason why DL should operate its own aircraft in JFK-CDG when AF can do it effectively and free up DL to use its resources to open other routes, many of which will benefit AF.

AF will not use its resources to start a route like JFK-AGP. DL opened the market and is doing very well on the route. In time (not this phase), AF will enjoy some of the profits from that route.

It is time to quit thinking of airlines in terms of lines between cities on a route map and see them instead as businesses that produce the greatest return for their investors.

If AF and DL can generate better returns for each other by DL dropping NYC-PAR, they should be commended for moving the airline industry to a profitable, future-focused paradigm.
And here is WT's post
 
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and the logic behind my response is no different from E's.

But there are no DL FAs on AF flights and DL pilots don't fly AF aircraft and vice versa.

Further, it is worth noting that DL has added its own service on JFK-CDG alongside AF in part because inter-terminal connections at JFK are much more complicated and DL also adds its own BOS-CDG service on at least a seasonal basis.

From a revenue standpoint, JVs are the closest thing to a merger. from a customer standpoint, employee jobs, and inter-terminal connections and other benefits, there is not complete interchangeability within JVs.

DL and AF/KL also each have their own metal on key JV routes from ATL and NYC and sometimes other hubs; DL is doing the same type of route sharing with VS which gives rise to VS starting ATL and DL starting LAX.

if AA decides to restart its own service on BOS-LHR, it confirms my point.

perhaps you can tell me what percentage of the traffic is plated on AA from BOS-LHR even though flights are all operated by BA.
 
^^^ Squirrel! ^^^

There is no viable financial reason why DL should operate its own aircraft in JFK-CDG when AF can do it effectively and free up DL to use its resources to open other routes, many of which will benefit AF.
Yep, no double standard whatsoever...
 

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