I mean just because AA has now assigned Express flying to all or in part between PHX-AUS/ONT/BUR/ABQ/ELP/SAT/IAH/TUS shouldn't be cause for concern. Not like these cities are SGU, IGM, ROW, MRY or SBA or anything.
Carry on!
With the exception of IAH (a Star hub), AA has had little to do with the loss of mainline flying to those stations. And TUS...really? I'm sure people are desperately clamoring for a mainline experience for the whole 20 minutes that flight is in the air. Let's compare July 2011 to this upcoming July:
[TABLE="class: brtb_item_table"][TBODY][TR][TD]PHX to[/TD][TD]2011[/TD][TD]2017[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]AUS[/TD][TD]5x Express[/TD][TD]2x Mainline
3x Express[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]ONT[/TD][TD]5x Mainline[/TD][TD]4x Mainline
2x Express[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]BUR[/TD][TD]4x Express[/TD][TD]3x Express[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]ABQ[/TD][TD]5x Express[/TD][TD]6x Express[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]ELP[/TD][TD]5x Express[/TD][TD]6x Express[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]SAT[/TD][TD]1x Mainline
3x Express[/TD]
[TD]3x Mainline
2x Express[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]IAH[/TD][TD]5x Mainline[/TD][TD]2x Mainline
2x Express[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]TUS[/TD][TD]10x Express[/TD][TD]9x Express[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]
In the case of ABQ, AUS, BUR, ELP, SAT, and TUS, what mainline flights were really lost? I know you can go back to the pre-recession years and make that case, but then again, that was pre-recession...