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New AA flights from Miami

Jim, DL slashed their operation at DFW significantly after 9/11 (one of our friends from work was married to a DL mechanic with 20 years who got bumped to ATL). Truth is, they'd been slowly hacking away at it before then. They'd dropped FRA & LGW at various points in the late 90's, and finally gave up on HNL in either 1999 or 2000.

But, the hub didn't officially close until January 2005. My guess is it took that long to renegotiate the lease abandonment with the airport (this was done well before their bankruptcy filing)

DL were still running ~250 flights a day in January, which dropped to ~20 in February.

Later today I'll see if I can map the pulldown and break out what was DL* vs. DL, but the operation was predominantly Delta Connection at the end, just like CVG and MEM.
 
I don't think DL ever flew DFW-LGW.... but yes FRA went bye-bye with the realignment of the whole European operation that was bought from PA... and I believe that took place closer to the mid-90s than late 90s.

SLC Hawaii was added to replace DFW Hawaii ... not sure when but SLC could be done w/ a domestic 767 and a single crew; DFW on a two man cockpit required an augmented crew.

While you're at, E, show us the growth of AA at MIA over the past 10 years -20 if you would like. AA has made some strategic blunders. MIA has not been one of them.
 
I'll wait to see what you put together, but in the interim, here's a link that may be of interest. It jumps from Dec. of '04 to Feb. of '05, but...

http://www.departedf...m/DLDFWhub.html
with a jump of just 2 months, it would appear the hub was pulled down after the Christmas/NY holidays.

Also, there were still a number of west coast markets which were served by mainline aircraft based on the data (flight counts not in parentheses). 44 mainline to 110 DCI flights before the hub closed. T

The strategic value of DFW as a hub to DL then and still would be now the flows from the SE and Texas to the west coast which do not entirely work via SLC which is a smaller local market.

Remember also that fuel prices spiked in 2005 and was a major factor in the timing of DL's BK. There were predictions of DL's BK for months before its filing in Sept 05.

And, DL's rapid departure from DFW most certainly helped AA and fed into their mindset that has long been expressed that they would just stick around and other carriers would fail, diminishing the need for AA to fix some of its financial problems which were obviously not fixed in 2003. AA already knew by 2005 that UA was cutting much deeper than what AA got in 2003.
 
paying the same rate per square foot or per pound of landed weight does not mean that every carrier pays the same amount. Airlines DO pay the majority of the cost of the airport. Leases for hub airports frequently do allow the airline some control over concessions as well as give them some portion of the parking revenue etc.
But AA's payments to MIA amount to hundreds of millions of dollars per year and they pay the highest part of MIA's expenses of any single entity.

That I can agree with - it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the biggest airport tenent would pay the most in absolute terms. However, you previously said the AA had paid billions (note the past tense) to build their new MIA terminal, which was wrong.

Jim
 
that is valid, Jim. Goes in the same category as saying that most Americans OWN their homes.
 
Code:
DL DFW HUB

SkedDate   depcity    Destinations Flights Mainline Widebody Narrowbody Branded
---------- ---------- ------------ ------- -------- -------- ---------- -------
1978/11/01 DFW          15           48      48        9       39          0

1986/07/17 DFW          56          224     185       33      152         39
1986/12/31 DFW          58          395     333       38      295         62
1987/07/08 DFW          60          293     213       33      180         80
1989/02/02 DFW          71          332     252       41      211         80
1989/08/02 DFW          76          352     272       51      221         80
1990/02/02 DFW          75          349     264       39      225         85
1991/02/06 DFW          81          337     255       40      215         82
1992/02/04 DFW          82          360     271       27      244         89
1992/08/05 DFW          83          370     285       44      241         85
1993/02/02 DFW          82          349     260       33      227         89
1993/11/30 DFW          82          372     246       36      210        126
1994/02/01 DFW          82          384     234       25      209        150
1994/08/15 DFW          80          357     228       29      199        129
1995/01/31 DFW          80          359     230       29      201        129
1995/07/16 DFW          75          357     228       32      196        129
1996/02/08 DFW          65          260     172       32      140         88
1996/08/11 DFW          65          264     176       39      137         88
1997/02/06 DFW          63          248     169       30      139         79
1997/08/07 DFW          61          226     146       19      127         80
1998/02/08 DFW          58          205     129       15      114         76
1998/08/04 DFW          58          207     131       14      117         76
1999/02/02 DFW          59          202     126       15      111         76
1999/08/03 DFW          56          190     126       13      113         64
2000/02/08 DFW          56          186     122       13      109         64
2000/08/08 DFW          59          217     134       14      120         83
2001/02/08 DFW          63          212     121       14      107         91
2001/08/14 DFW          59          200     123       15      108         77
2001/09/29 DFW          59          246     106       18       88        140
2001/10/01 DFW          56          228      88       18       70        140
2002/02/09 DFW          64          236      91       13       78        145
2002/08/13 DFW          66          226      91       15       76        135
2003/02/04 DFW          70          239      86        8       78        153
2003/08/12 DFW          71          359      69        2       67        290
2004/02/10 DFW          73          278      74        4       70        204
2004/08/10 DFW          70          272      66        6       60        206


AA MIA Hub

SkedDate   depcity    Destinations Flights Mainline Widebody Narrowbody Branded
---------- ---------- ------------ ------- -------- -------- ---------- -------
1986/07/17 MIA           2            7       7        1        6          0
1987/01/03 MIA           3            6       6        1        5          0
1987/07/02 MIA           4           14      14        0       14          0
1989/02/11 MIA           6           19      19        3       16          0
1989/08/08 MIA          13           32      32       12       20          0
1990/01/31 MIA          22           79      34        9       25         45
1990/08/15 MIA          40          111      74       27       47         37
1991/02/09 MIA          50          136      85       35       50         51
1991/08/06 MIA          59          171     117       37       80         54
1992/02/04 MIA          57          173     105       40       65         68
1992/08/04 MIA          71          202     140       41       99         62
1993/02/02 MIA          78          210     131       32       99         79
1993/11/30 MIA          78          245     159       48      111         86
1994/02/01 MIA          78          344     175       56      119        169
1994/08/09 MIA          75          264     176       55      121         88
1995/01/31 MIA          81          299     190       56      134        109
1995/07/14 MIA          85          312     198       55      143        114
1996/02/06 MIA          81          297     175       44      131        122
1996/08/09 MIA          80          289     205       53      152         84
1997/02/05 MIA          81          302     198       55      143        104
1997/08/06 MIA          79          290     200       46      154         90
1998/02/04 MIA          82          300     190       48      142        110
1998/08/04 MIA          84          289     193       45      148         96
1999/02/02 MIA          84          275     188       44      144         87
1999/08/03 MIA          80          279     196       46      150         83
2000/02/09 MIA          81          284     194       48      146         90
2000/08/08 MIA          78          261     193       45      148         68
2001/02/07 MIA          82          263     185       48      137         78
2001/08/14 MIA          78          247     190       45      145         57
2001/10/03 MIA          75          228     165       44      121         63
2002/02/06 MIA          74          201     156       42      114         45
2002/08/13 MIA          75          228     195       41      154         33
2003/02/05 MIA          79          194     157       32      125         37
2003/08/12 MIA          79          224     195       45      150         29
2004/02/10 MIA          83          231     198       50      148         33
2004/08/10 MIA          84          253     211       45      166         42



AA RDU Hub

SkedDate   depcity    Destinations Flights Mainline Widebody Narrowbody Branded
---------- ---------- ------------ ------- -------- -------- ---------- -------
1986/07/17 RDU           2            4       4        0        4          0
1987/01/03 RDU           3            9       9        0        9          0
1987/07/02 RDU          40          200     118        0      118         82
1989/02/11 RDU          55          186     142       18      124         44
1989/08/08 RDU          58          228     146       15      131         82
1990/01/31 RDU          56          217     126       10      116         91
1990/08/15 RDU          59          195     142       10      132         53
1991/02/09 RDU          58          184     113        7      106         71
1991/08/06 RDU          62          199     134        4      130         65
1992/02/04 RDU          60          149      65        2       63         84
1992/08/04 RDU          63          199     111        3      108         88
1993/02/02 RDU          62          192      98        3       95         94
1993/11/30 RDU          61          211     128        9      119         83
1994/02/01 RDU          61          286     130        9      121        156
1994/08/09 RDU          57          217     106        9       97        111
1995/01/31 RDU          24           63      63        2       61          0
1995/07/14 RDU           5           23      19        2       17          4
1996/02/06 RDU           5           19      16        2       14          3
1996/08/09 RDU           6           21      16        2       14          5
1997/02/05 RDU           6           22      17        2       15          5
1997/08/06 RDU           6           26      19        2       17          7
1998/02/04 RDU           6           23      16        2       14          7
1998/08/04 RDU           7           26      16        2       14         10
1999/02/02 RDU           8           30      16        1       15         14
1999/08/03 RDU           8           29      17        1       16         12
2000/02/09 RDU           7           24      16        2       14          8
2000/08/08 RDU           7           26      16        2       14         10
2001/02/07 RDU           5           19      15        2       13          4
2001/08/14 RDU           6           27      17        1       16         10
2001/10/03 RDU          11           51      17        1       16         34
2002/02/06 RDU          15           68      19        2       17         49
2002/08/13 RDU          14           64      27        1       26         37
2003/02/05 RDU          13           54      20        1       19         34
2003/08/12 RDU          13           63      19        1       18         44
2004/02/10 RDU          13           68      17        1       16         51
2004/08/10 RDU          14           81      17        1       16         64


AA BNA Hub

SkedDate   depcity    Destinations Flights Mainline Widebody Narrowbody Branded
---------- ---------- ------------ ------- -------- -------- ---------- -------
1978/11/01 BNA          10           18      18        0       18          0
1986/07/17 BNA          35          103      59        0       59         44
1987/01/03 BNA          39          106      76        0       76         30
1987/07/02 BNA          41          125      79        0       79         46
1989/02/11 BNA          58          171     119        1      118         52
1989/08/08 BNA          51          191      95        0       95         96
1990/01/31 BNA          47          165      83        0       83         82
1990/08/15 BNA          50          152      90        0       90         62
1991/02/09 BNA          57          117      63        0       63         54
1991/08/06 BNA          70          233     134        0      134         99
1992/02/04 BNA          68          167      65        0       65        102
1992/08/04 BNA          79          255     134        1      133        121
1993/02/02 BNA          79          260     114        1      113        146
1993/11/30 BNA          73          234     100        0      100        134
1994/02/01 BNA          71          305     103        0      103        202
1994/08/09 BNA          70          237     104        2      102        133
1995/01/31 BNA          64          216      77        1       76        139
1995/07/14 BNA          52          165      48        1       47        117
1996/02/06 BNA          25           84      31        0       31         53
1996/08/09 BNA           9           33      22        0       22         11
1997/02/05 BNA           6           22      19        0       19          3
1997/08/06 BNA           6           23      20        0       20          3
1998/02/04 BNA           6           20      17        0       17          3
1998/08/04 BNA           6           21      18        0       18          3
1999/02/02 BNA           6           20      17        0       17          3
1999/08/03 BNA           6           21      18        0       18          3
2000/02/09 BNA           5           19      19        0       19          0
2000/08/08 BNA           6           20      18        0       18          2
2001/02/07 BNA           6           19      17        0       17          2
2001/08/14 BNA           6           20      17        0       17          3
2001/10/03 BNA           5           16      13        0       13          3
2002/02/06 BNA           8           26      20        0       20          6
2002/08/13 BNA           9           32      17        0       17         15
2003/02/05 BNA           8           33      12        0       12         21
2003/08/12 BNA           8           39      18        0       18         21
2004/02/10 BNA           8           31      15        0       15         16
2004/08/10 BNA           8           37      13        0       13         24
 
But AA's payments to MIA amount to hundreds of millions of dollars per year and they pay the highest part of MIA's expenses of any single entity.

Last year, AA's total other rentals and landing fees (not counting airplene rents) was $1.305 billion last year, and Eagle's total other rentals and landing fees was $127 million for a total at AMR of $1.432 billion. Do you have a breakdown of AA's airport expenses at some of its larger hubs and focus cities?
 
FWA,
I have seen AA's payments to MIA in the annual report for MIA on their website. Correct me if I am wrong and you look it up, but I believe it was about $200M or more.
Since all US airports, they should publish sources of revenue. I have seen the revenue listed by carrier at a couple of airports.

It isn't unreasonable that MIA accounted for about 15% of AA's total airport and landing fees.

thanks for the info, Eric.

Although the BNA and RDU hub pulldowns don't exactly correlate w/ comparably sized buildups at MIA, there is an obvious growth at MIA that occurred in the mid to late 90s followed by the general pulldown that happened w/ 9/11. Your data doesn't extend to the present but AA has continued to build MIA and the new terminal allows them to do so.

You don't include DL NYC data but DL started growing it in 2005 and forward.

AA and DL both realigned assets as a result of their hub closures... and interestingly, both gave something to the other while taking something from the other. DL's retreat from DFW helped AA but hurt them in NYC. AA's retreat from its SE hubs came as UA was pulling down its MIA operation and blocked any chance that DL or any other carrier could grow in the MIA-Latin America market.
 
that is valid, Jim. Goes in the same category as saying that most Americans OWN their homes.

Nope, wrong again...

AA (or DL/UA/US/etc) doesn't own the MIA terminal and have a mortgage to pay off. The airport owns the terminal and leases it out (or portions in the case of terminals shared by more than one tenent. Plus the non-airline tenents pay leases on their space, which goes to the airport to help pay for the terminal. Plus parking lot income, PFC's, etc. In short, AA is leasing the airport. A better example is a person who rents a place to live. They may have to live there a decade or two for their rent to equal the cost of construction, but the landlord is responsible for maintenance/upkeep that whole time which results in slower payback. And the renter can move out any time after the rental agreement expires, leaving the landlord holding the bag if they can't find another tenent.

This is basic stuff, not rocket science. Anyone claiming to be intimately familiar with the industry should know this stuff.

Jim
 
where do you possibly read that I said that AA or any airline owns MIA or any other airport?

you argued that AA hasn't PAID for their new terminal which I said was valid - they are PAYING and WILL BE PAYING for decades.

The statement that AA hasn't PAID for its terminal is similar - falls into the same category - of saying that most Americans OWN their home when in reality most Americans are BUYING their homes from the bank.

There is nothing in that statement that says that AA is BUYING MIA or any part of it.
 
The statement that AA hasn't PAID for its terminal is similar - falls into the same category - of saying that most Americans OWN their home when in reality most Americans are BUYING their homes from the bank.

Most Americans are buying their home. With borrowed money of course, but if they stay there long enough they own the home.

AA isn't buying the terminal in MIA or any other commercial airport - they're leasing it. So twice you've implied that AA does or will own it's terminal in MIA when in fact they will not. The concept is rather simple, as I said. Just like a renter, not a buyer.

If you don't get the concept of leasing what else don't you get...as you talk about the "facts" you distribute so freely...

Jim
 
Jim,
my statement has nothing to do with buying or leasing.

that is valid, Jim. Goes in the same category as saying that most Americans OWN their homes.

It has to do with the fact that AA is LEASING and BUYING - the present participle - vs, PAID - past indicative form of the verb - and is in the same form as saying that most Americans ARE BUYING - present participle - their home but do not actually OWN - present indicative.

The parallel is one of grammar, not application, Jim.

I didn't say anything about AA or any airline BUYING or ever expecting to OWN an airport or any part of it.

The verb PAY does not imply ownership. Payments can include LEASE payments, which is what airlines PAY.
 
Just can't admit that you were wrong, can you...

You originally said paid - past tense
You then said like buying a home - not leasing
You still talk about leasing and buying - not leasing, which doesn't transfer ownership.
And you've started the straw man argument of "an airport" when it's only AA's terminal at MIA.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong...but your ego will never admit that...

Jim
 

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