Service to Liberia (LIR)

[MAH4546]

Not the most informative post, but just when I thought AA was king to Latin America (well, there is no disputing that, they are THE king) and just when I thought they served every Latin destination served by other American carriers, I discover, of all airlines, Northwest, serves, of all Latin American cities, Liberia, from, of all places, freakin'' Minneapolis-St. Paul. So, come on American, where''s that MIA-LIR service? Liberia is actually quite a hot-spot for American tourists, a perfect vacation spot. I''m surprised AA has not entered the market, because Norhtwest''s service, which is winter-only, is all that there is. Then again, I''m sure the management has thier own reasons for not serving LIR, but I think it would make a perfect addition (I also think they could do well with weekend service to Roatan/RTB. Grupo Taca offers IAH-RTB and MIA-RTB on weekends; and Sol Air is starting up MIA-RTB and DFW-RTB on 2 November). Any comments, disagreements?

 

[FlyAA777]

Call me crazy, but I thought Liberia was a sliver of a country in West Africa...

 

[MrMarky]

You are correct.

And since when does Northwest fly to either South America or Africa?

 

[s80dude]

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On 8/24/2002 9:32:36 AM

You are correct.

And since when does Northwest fly to either South America or Africa?
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Some NW girls lived in my bldg. when I was based in Boston and they used to have 8 day trips that went to places in Africa and India. They first flew to Amsterdam and layover and then would continue on to some exotic city. I think it all ties in with KLM obviously.

 

[JFK777]

It's time AA think about service to Africa. There are markets to Egypt, Morrocco, Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya. How can there be 5 daily flight frpm LHR - JNB and only 2 flight from the entire USA, JFK & ATL by SAA.

 

[MAH4546]

Should have clarified. Liberia is a city in Costa Rica, although, yes, it is also a country in Africa. I do agree that AA could do well in Africa. You can't go wrong with Miami-South Africa flights (buy the route authority from United, which has never used it). Morrocco is also a lucrative market (Miami-Casablanca, 3x a week, 767-300). I think Africa is a market that the US carriers will see devlopment in 10-15 years down the line. European carriers have already discovered the gold mine. Hopefully American will see oppurtunties in the area, and make use of thier MIA hub, which is ideally situated as a US-Africa gateway, and also has some pretty strong O&D traffic and ties to certain African nations, such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Morrocco.

 

[MAH4546]

Latest word is that Delta will start year-round service to Liberia, Costa Rica next year. Let's hope American Airlines reacts, or beats DL to it.