Not a surprise really. The HNL flights have long been rumored to be money pits for most US airlines. It does make reward redemptions and cheap mile runs to HNL a little more difficult.... Also interesting to note that the article states the JFK-HND will go on hiatus again until July. Looks like the loads still aren't there for HND. RIP
Sorry about that - the article states that AA currently has 32 departures out of SFO. My hope is that AA doesn't merely drop the HNL flight and NOT concurrently add a flight to a different city. (Saying it another way, I hope that AA keeps 32 total departures going out of that spiffy new T2 facility).
Gotcha. I have some doubts on that though. AA has been scaling back service to the Bay Area for awhile. OAK closed, SJC is a shell of what it was and it's Admiral's Club closed. It's difficult for AA to compete at SFO. Clearly SFO will always have AA service, I do think we might see some further shrink in the future though. T2 is nice but AA's move was subsidized. Their permanent home is in T1 in a few years, and who knows what their plan is in terms of gates/service...
It's these continued cancellations of flights from SFO & SJC that make me think it is hardly worth being a member of AA if you are Bay Area based. Must admit I have never flown on the SFO - HNL flight, we have always gone on Hawaiian out of SJC. Hawaiian probably have the market stitched up from the Bay Area to HNL with daily flights out of OAK, SFO & SJC. However the route must be profitable otherwise why would Alaskan have come in with flights to Hawaii recently out of SJC?
I think your right. My cousin recently went to Maui on Hawaiian, said service was good and the plane was decently full.
I used to fly AA out of SJC exclusively and often, as it is close to my business. I was so disappointed when AA stopped almost all of their flights our of there. I now use SFO but the rest of my company uses United because AA has very few non-stop flights (especially into cities in Europe, which is where we fly mostly). I am getting frustrated taking 8 hours longer than my colleagues to get to my destination because I am staying loyal to AA. I am considering switching if AA doesn't make SFO more of a hub. I have been with AA for 26 years and have 4 M miles (Ex. Plat. for last 5 years). It's a shame.
Hey imerose, welcome to MP and to the AA Forum! Sad to say I think you won't be pleased with the next few years. All signs seem to point toward less service for the Bay Area. Really who knows what AA will do, but if the trend continues, it won't be good. To focus more on what you can do though.... Have you considered taking British Airways (BA) from SFO - LHR and then connecting on to Europe that way? Would it be save you any time? While I love AA, BA's service is generally considered to be a step up anyway.
Although I don't fly this route, I'm disappointed. DL doesn't operate a hub here but they are capable of holding the route. We've seen lots of destinations pulled from SFO in the last several years: OGG, SNA, STL, BOS, and now HNL. On top of this, all flights to ORD and DFW will be 738s quite soon-when they were formerly a mix of 763, 757, and M80s. Upgrades aren't easy. They're definitely investing all of their eggs in the basket of the cornerstone strategy. Let's just hope that they don't abandon loyal customers in other markets in the process.
If you're upgrading with AA systemwides on your Europe flights purchased in coach, just keep in mind that UA systemwides require purchasing of a qualifying fare (W or higher), and that could cost hundreds of dollars more. I gave away all my UA systemwides last year because I would not buy up. Don't know if that would impact your decision but it's something to consider.
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