The removal of row 27 has been on he drawing board before the W/C and the new FAA weights. As far as transcons, one could easily cap the number of pax and leave the seats in. The wt and balance is not that big an issue, on a day to day basis.
Pax loves more room, now you can get it and a low fare, sounds pretty good!
As far as AA being as cheap as B6, that would be a somewhat wrong statement. AA is as cheap as jetBlue, but only on selected routes, the ones that they compete on, otherwise, AA still charges a hefty premium.
Have not checked lately, but I would think AA to LAX is more than AA to LGB.
Just checked fares on july 15 and returning the 20th. AA jfk-lax $2117, jfk-lgb $327. $1800, that's quite a difference