Nice Job on 1596 Yesterday

[USFlyer]

Sure will be interesting to see what they do to American's A321 that will have 102 seats in a three class configuration.

This configuration is only slated for JFK-SFO and JFK-LAX. I believe AA will have a more standard A321 configuration for A321s used on other routes.

That said, I'll be surprised if AA+US keeps a dedicated A321 fleet with this few seats for the JFK-SFO and JFK-LAX runs. Although, UA does, so maybe AA+US will too.

 

[traderjake]

Since that row doesn't recline, one would think that a company that cared about its passengers would add an extra few inches to the last row, and the rows in front of the exit rows which also do not recline.

When the guy in front of you reclines his seat it's pretty bad.

 

[nycbusdriver]

Sure will be interesting to see what they do to American's A321 that will have 102 seats in a three class configuration. What does US now have on their A321's?

183...16/167...direct from the USAirways website. Kind of obscene, huh? If they had their druthers, they would simply put military web seating along the walls and straps from the ceiling to hold on to for standees. Coach would probably hold about 275 then. Thank God for FAA regs (did I really just say that?)

Don't worry though, Parker has stated their would be more attention to customer service....

Definitely more attention...on how to remove amenities and add seats.

 

[nycbusdriver]

This configuration is only slated for JFK-SFO and JFK-LAX. I believe AA will have a more standard A321 configuration for A321s used on other routes.

That said, I'll be surprised if AA+US keeps a dedicated A321 fleet with this few seats for the JFK-SFO and JFK-LAX runs. Although, UA does, so maybe AA+US will too.

US is notorious for dismantling dedicated fleets. (See Florida Shuttle. See DCA-LGA-BOS Shuttle. See Metrojet.) They love the idea until they THINK they see an opportunity to make an extra nickel.

 

[crazystnic]

I'd like to compliment the crew of 1596 yesterday PHL-BWI.

Normally I'd drive to Maryland but have meetings today in MD and CLT. While LGA-PHL was delayed by a good half hour it arrived within 10 min of sked...but on a 24 minute flight the crew did a water/juice service quickly and efficiently. Oh and 700UW the flight was on your namesake.

Nice job y'all.....

My BEST to you all....

Art are you going to stop flying UAL now that they have changed their "change fees" and raised the fees's by 50 dollars.. each on internatinoal and domestic change fee?

 

[FWAAA]

This configuration is only slated for JFK-SFO and JFK-LAX. I believe AA will have a more standard A321 configuration for A321s used on other routes.

That said, I'll be surprised if AA+US keeps a dedicated A321 fleet with this few seats for the JFK-SFO and JFK-LAX runs. Although, UA does, so maybe AA+US will too.

UA is replacing its 3-class configuration with 2-class but keeping lie-flat J seats as the front cabin. Delta has announced that all JFK-LAX/SFO/SEA flights will eventually be flown with lie-flat 763s or lie-flat 757s, and has already added some 763s JFK-LAX.

Parker has his faults, but I don't see him walking away from the huge revenue premium that AA attracts between JFK and LAX.

Tomorrow, UA is going to announce a first quarter loss and it will be the only big airline to do so this quarter, as AA, DL and US have already announced Q1 profits (in AA's case, excluding reorg and special items, of course). UA is flailing its arms under Smisek's incompetence and AA is continuing to make life difficult for UA and will do so up until Parker takes over. I just don't see him taking AA's foot off of UA's neck when he takes over.

 

[USFlyer]

I somehow missed that UA announcement. Wikipedia says UA announced the 3-class to 2-class back in 2011, so I'm guessing the changes are already underway.

Was AA planning to market the flights differently, ala UA's "p.s." service?

 

[nycbusdriver]

UA is replacing its 3-class configuration with 2-class but keeping lie-flat J seats as the front cabin. Delta has announced that all JFK-LAX/SFO/SEA flights will eventually be flown with lie-flat 763s or lie-flat 757s, and has already added some 763s JFK-LAX.

Parker has his faults, but I don't see him walking away from the huge revenue premium that AA attracts between JFK and LAX.

Tomorrow, UA is going to announce a first quarter loss and it will be the only big airline to do so this quarter, as AA, DL and US have already announced Q1 profits (in AA's case, excluding reorg and special items, of course). UA is flailing its arms under Smisek's incompetence and AA is continuing to make life difficult for UA and will do so up until Parker takes over. I just don't see him taking AA's foot off of UA's neck when he takes over.

When it come to customer service, I am really not too confident that Parker will shine. That being said, maybe sweet revenge will keep Parker's foot on UA's neck and the AA customer will be the beneficiary. After all, Parker was wooing UA for a merge until CO came in with the "pretty girl vs. ugly girl at the dance." Somehow I don't think Parker will forget the snub.

 

[FWAAA]

I somehow missed that UA announcement. Wikipedia says UA announced the 3-class to 2-class back in 2011, so I'm guessing the changes are already underway.

Was AA planning to market the flights differently, ala UA's "p.s." service?

I haven't kept track of their conversion but I believe that it's probably about complete.

In 1991 or so, when they began, AA marketed its 3-class transcons (between BOS/NYC/IAD/MIA and SFO/LAX/SAN - there were a lot of them back then) as American Flagship Service, or AFS. That designation has faded from view but was still in use 10 years ago when UA renamed its transcons "ps." 20+ years ago AA marketed its 3-class long-haul international flights as International Flagship Service, or IFS. Perhaps AA will revive that marketing later this year when the new A321s arrive. AA is planning to have five of them enter service in the fourth quarter and the rest of them in early 2014.

The oddest part was that conventional wisdom had declared 3-class transcons (and all international 3-class for that matter) to be an extinct relic and then AA surprised everyone by announcing that the JFK transcons to LAX and SFO would remain 3-class, with 1-1 First class configuration and 2-2 Business Class. Around the same time, AA announced that the 47 existing 777s would lose First Class and be reconfigured as 2-class, so the transcon announcement was a big surprise.

I've sat next to enough celebs between JFK and LAX to see that AA has a lot of that business. And with UA abandoning it, there will only one airline with the privacy and intimacy in the front cabin that these big-spenders crave, and that will be the new AA. With 10 F suites (lie-flat) up front where all 10 have aisle access - that's much better than even today's AA First. 20 lie-flat J seats arranged 2-2 is not too shabby, along with 36 extra legroom MCE seats (3-3) and 36 regular economy seats (also 3-3).

Of course, that will be a very high-CASM A321 flight, so it's essential that AA keep getting its historical high average fares for these routes. The good part is that the trip cost will be substantially less than the current trip cost of the 762s that AA uses on these routes.

When it come to customer service, I am really not too confident that Parker will shine. That being said, maybe sweet revenge will keep Parker's foot on UA's neck and the AA customer will be the beneficiary. After all, Parker was wooing UA for a merge until CO came in with the "pretty girl vs. ugly girl at the dance." Somehow I don't think Parker will forget the snub.

If that helps cause him to keep up the revenue-attraction perks for customers, then I'll be happy.

 

[SS255]

My company does a lot of paid F travel on the AA LAX-JFK route (executives and talent). Poor me, I am only entitled to paid J on this route. I can't see AA yanking out the F cabin as UA is currently doing, and snubbing all that "easy money."

With that said, UA's lie-flat seats are terrific. If AA were to convert to a 2-class aircraft on this route (which I doubt they will), they would have a tough act to follow. All of the current paid F business that AA is enjoying would be up for grabs if no airline provides 3-class service. And the biggest egos would simply fly private.

 

[xUT]

Art are you going to stop flying UAL now that they have changed their "change fees" and raised the fees's by 50 dollars.. each on internatinoal and domestic change fee?

United Airlines parent narrows loss in 1Q

The airline last week increased the penalty for changing a flight's itinerary to $200 from $150. US Airways followed, instituting a $200 fee Wednesday.

DOH!