here it is,,the final tribute to the American Airline employees, who flew the final flight to Tokyo, Japan on October 27th, 2006 from San Jose International Airport. It's hard to believe the flight started about 15years ago,,,(it can't be that long- my gosh)...starting with the DC-10-30 model in 1991..and then the MD-11's, and as of 1999 - the Boeing 777 service. As a long time airline photographer at SJC, there was nothing better waiting for the big American Airline 'Heavy's' smokin' onto 30L or 12R at SJC..I will truly miss this airport action, but most of all, a big "thank you" to all of the AA employees, past and present, who made this flight seem so easy....this flight didn't go, without the dedicated employees of American Airlines......all of you, ........made it happen!
VivaGunners From Italy, joined Oct 2000, 363 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 11164 times:
It must be very sad indeed for all the SJC spotters to see it go.
Was the flight performing that badly? It is quite strange AA decided to drop it after 15 years.
Mikesairways From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 636 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 11056 times:
Thanks for posting this - I wanted to make it out there yesterday but was stuck at work. It definitely is sad to see what is left of our airport in terms of flights.
The red zone is for the immediate loading and unloading of passengers only, there is no stopping in the white zone...(Ai
Silver1SWA From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 4553 posts, RR: 26 Reply 3, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days 1 hour ago) and read 10908 times:
I flew up from SAN yesterday. Not specifically to see this...would have been nice but I decided to come up later in the evening. The last AA 777 at SJC took off this morning. Ferry flight I believe. I didn't even make it to the airport for that. Damn.
I did get to take a full tour of the AA 777, inside and out, when I worked at SJC. I'll never forget that. Massive bird... Sad day for SJC.
ALL views, opinions expressed are mine ONLY and are NOT representative of those shared by Southwest Airlines Co.
Jacobin777 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 14968 posts, RR: 61 Reply 4, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days ago) and read 10878 times:
here it is,,the final tribute to the American Airline employees, who flew the final flight to Tokyo, Japan on October 27th, 2006 from San Jose International Airport. It's hard to believe the flight started about 15years ago,,,(it can't be that long- my gosh)...starting with the DC-10-30 model in 1991..and then the MD-11's, and as of 1999 - the Boeing 777 service. As a long time airline photographer at SJC, there was nothing better waiting for the big American Airline 'Heavy's' smokin' onto 30L or 12R at SJC..I will truly miss this airport action, but most of all, a big "thank you" to all of the AA employees, past and present, who made this flight seem so easy....this flight didn't go, without the dedicated employees of American Airlines......all of you, ........made it happen!
SJC Alien
I saw the rotation yesterday..I was parked a littl bit off of Scott St....saw it fly right over my car..
Quoting VivaGunners (Reply 1): It must be very sad indeed for all the SJC spotters to see it go.
Yah..unfortunately, it lost between $14-$15million last year..
Quoting Silver1SWA (Reply 3): The last AA 777 at SJC took off this morning. Ferry flight I believe.
I saw the arrival today from NRT, as well as the departure to DFW (yes it was a ferry flight-AA Flight# 2222)....
Man..did that plane rotate EARLY....!! I've got some photos of it which I will be posting up in a few days...just amazing (I heard it was a full flight as AA was giving a special fare which included a free flight back from DFW..that is what I heard...I'll try to find out more about this later)
Today is a sad day in SJC history...no more 777's here...
Ual747 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 5, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days ago) and read 10848 times:
From the Video, the new terminal at SJC looks nice. I had the god awful pleasure (yeah right) of going through the customs "shack" back in 1999 coming in from NRT. It was like getting out of an awesome plane and going through the ghetttttto.
Jacobin777 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 14968 posts, RR: 61 Reply 6, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days ago) and read 10838 times:
Quoting Ual747 (Reply 5): From the Video, the new terminal at SJC looks nice. I had the god awful pleasure (yeah right) of going through the customs "shack" back in 1999 coming in from NRT. It was like getting out of an awesome plane and going through the ghetttttto.
UAL
Lol..the A-terminal is nice..small but easy to deal with..the beauty was right after security, the gate for the NRT flight was a minute or so walk...such an easy airport to deal with..ther are some on A.net who don't fancy SJC..
DeltaGator From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 6341 posts, RR: 16 Reply 7, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days ago) and read 10803 times:
I meant to ask a question about this flight so this thread is timely. Did they make a stop for fuel somewhere? The runway in SJC just doesn't seem long enough to handle a fully loaded 777.
"If you can't delight in the misery of others then you don't deserve to be a college football fan."
Mikesairways From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 636 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days ago) and read 10788 times:
Quoting DeltaGator (Reply 7): The runway in SJC just doesn't seem long enough to handle a fully loaded 777.
The runways 30R/L are both 11000 feet - plenty long. Ironically, the runways were originally extended for this particular flight as well as many of the terminal improvements were made for AA for their ever so abandonded hub.
The red zone is for the immediate loading and unloading of passengers only, there is no stopping in the white zone...(Ai
Jacobin777 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 14968 posts, RR: 61 Reply 9, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 10728 times:
Quoting Mikesairways (Reply 8): The runways 30R/L are both 11000 feet - plenty long. Ironically, the runways were originally extended for this particular flight as well as many of the terminal improvements were made for AA for their ever so abandonded hub.
AA has tried quite a bit to make SJC into a large hub..but with the .dotbomb crash a few years ago, and all the other external problems/situations, it was difficult for AA to justify a flight which lost over $14 million in one year......right now, the market doesn't dictate AA expand @ SJC and AA is better off using its equipment elsewhere for greater returns
It might take a few years, but once all the carriers stablise (if they ever do), AA could once again work on expanding SJC.....AA/MQ are still the 2nd largerst carrier out of SJC after WN..and after having spotting there countless amounts of time, AA/MQ has a nice base of operations there..
Interestingly enough, if one looks at AA's website under the fleet section, the 777 is a photo from SJC..
(I wish it was mine)
DeltaGator From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 6341 posts, RR: 16 Reply 10, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 10710 times:
Quoting Mikesairways (Reply 8): The runways 30R/L are both 11000 feet - plenty long.
Indeed they are. They just don't look that long to me when I see them. Thanks for the info that I was too sluggish to go look up. I think I was thinking about SNA's runwys instead which led me to think they were shorter.
"If you can't delight in the misery of others then you don't deserve to be a college football fan."
JetBlueNYFL From United States of America, joined May 2006, 274 posts, RR: 3 Reply 11, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 10711 times:
My friend flew on the inaugural 15 years ago...wow does time go fast!
What's the main reason for this flight being discontinued?
Jacobin777 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 14968 posts, RR: 61 Reply 12, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 10699 times:
Quoting JetBlueNYFL (Reply 11):
What's the main reason for this flight being discontinued?
Quoting Jacobin777 (Reply 9): it was difficult for AA to justify a flight which lost over $14 million in one year.
Wsan581 From United States of America, joined Sep 2006, 178 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 10684 times:
Quoting JetBlueNYFL (Reply 11): My friend flew on the inaugural 15 years ago...wow does time go fast!
What's the main reason for this flight being discontinued?
It was just not profitable...as mentioned above it was loosing about 15 million a year.
Jacobin777 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 14968 posts, RR: 61 Reply 14, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 10674 times:
Quoting Wsan581 (Reply 13): Where will AA relocate this 777?
There were a few listed here on A.net..I think South America will see a 777(but don't quote me on that..)..also, if AA wins the China route, then it will probably be deployed there...
Wsan581 From United States of America, joined Sep 2006, 178 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 10663 times:
Quoting Jacobin777 (Reply 14): if AA wins the China route, then it will probably be deployed there...
SJCRRPAX From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 16, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 9022 times:
Hey thanks Alien!! I wonder if when they say they were losing $15M if what they really mean is they would make $15M more by moving the flight to a different route. I had in the past talked to a couple of FA's for the flight that told me the flight was generally fairly full. I guess we can still watch the FedEx planes take off, that's about the next fun thing to do a SJC.
Kanebear From United States of America, joined May 2002, 953 posts, RR: 2 Reply 17, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 8842 times:
Not a direct indicator but a fairly good one: The loads were often weak. SJC-NRT regularly had C (business upgarde) inventory as well as D and I class, when the ORD, JFK, LAX and DFW flights wouldn't even have D (discount biz) available!!
Jkarp2112 From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 49 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 8749 times:
If they could move the route to SJC-TPE-MAA/BLR/HYD they might have done well. With the "Off-Shore Development" model for tech companies in Silicon Valley myself and many others find themselves driving 45-60 minutes to SFO 4-6 times per year to catch a flight on CI/BR/SQ/UA/Others to India (or Taiwan if it's notebook PC related). Maybe a daily wouldn't work but if they offered a flat seat in J, a decent C seat, and finally came around with some sort of Econ Plus it might have worked. Here's the break down of who you would see in each class: J=Chief Level Execs, C=VP's, Econ Plus=Directors/Managers, Y=Everyone else. Of course it's too late now with Connexion folding, but if you threw in Internet Access it could have been the Asia version of the Nerd Bird.
Jacobin777 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 14968 posts, RR: 61 Reply 19, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 17 hours ago) and read 8264 times:
Quoting Jkarp2112 (Reply 18): If they could move the route to SJC-TPE-MAA/BLR/HYD they might have done well. With the "Off-Shore Development" model for tech companies in Silicon Valley myself and many others find themselves driving 45-60 minutes to SFO 4-6 times per year to catch a flight on CI/BR/SQ/UA/Others to India (or Taiwan if it's notebook PC related). Maybe a daily wouldn't work but if they offered a flat seat in J, a decent C seat, and finally came around with some sort of Econ Plus it might have worked. Here's the break down of who you would see in each class: J=Chief Level Execs, C=VP's, Econ Plus=Directors/Managers, Y=Everyone else. Of course it's too late now with Connexion folding, but if you threw in Internet Access it could have been the Asia version of the Nerd Bird.
With SJC-TPE already doing well, this might have potentially worked....of course, the -200LR would have worked better...also, I don't know what rights AA has out of TPE
That being said, if AA gets some 787's, I think it could make the route potentially profitable....
Whatever carriers comes to The Bay Area first will clean house..there is no direct service to India, and The Bay Area has a huge Indian population...especially places like Sunnyvale, Fremont, San Jose, etc....
Sjcfly From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 6 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 17 hours ago) and read 8245 times:
A sad day for SJC. Just a few years ago SJC was a mini hub for AA with direct flights to JFK, BOS, PHX, DIA and more flights to ORD and DFW for connections. AA even had direct flights to TPE, Paris and Maui.The NRT flight made more sense then as passangers had more options for connections. So AA management kind of made this cancellation a forgone conclusion but cutting all their flights.
Now SJC is just a shell of the good old days and losing flights as they now finally upgrade the airport. What lousy timing but at least SJC will be better set up when the number of flights start growing again, maybe even AA will beef up there again.
I traveled on the SJC/NRT flight regularly, even had my first 777 go around at SJC as a RENO AIR plane did not clear the runway in time. Now I will have to go out of SFO (JAL) or LA (AA) if I want to get miles. I flew the SJC/NRT flight a few weeks ago and on my return, head count was less than 60! Sad day as it was always great to see that silver 777!
ASMVPGOLD From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 45 posts, RR: 0 Reply 21, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 8153 times:
Sad to see this flight go. I have taken it many times and it was always a wonderful trip. I much prefered going do to SJC and taking AA (after they droped SEA-NRT) vs. UA SEA-NRT. So long AA777... i will miss seeing you at SJC.
AAL0616 From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 264 posts, RR: 4 Reply 22, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 7981 times:
Thank you for posting the video of yeterday's final flight AAL 129, and ship 759. I had forgotten that October 27 was the last day and was busy traveling in another direction yesterday, so it was nice to catch your video. It has been a great 15 year run at San Jose and many are very disappointed to see the Tokyo service withdrawn. It will be interesting to see if, when or how the open slot at Narita is handled or filled. For now, the Dallas, Chicago and New York trips remain to Japan, and the San Jose bird redeploys to the east and south like Seattle did. San Jose will be missed.
Jacobin777 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 14968 posts, RR: 61 Reply 23, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 7981 times:
Quoting AAL0616 (Reply 22): For now, the Dallas, Chicago and New York trips remain to Japan,
LACA773 From United States of America, joined Nov 2004, 3752 posts, RR: 2 Reply 24, posted (6 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 15 hours ago) and read 7909 times:
Sad day indeed. I remember when I was still at SJSU before transfering to USF, the inagural flight to NRT from SJC. There was much warranted fan fare over it, and the chaos over having to stop in OAK to complete fueling as the MD-11 had severely disappointing performance issues, so until they could get SJC to extend the runway further, they brought the D10-30 in.
I haven't flown into SJC in a long time, have they finally started to upgrade the airport build a new terminal, etc.? It so needs it. It's ancient like BUR.
26 Deecee8: Where were the Flight Crews based that staffed this flight ?? Does anyone know ? Does AA have a SJC base ?
27 DTWAGENT: Sad sight to see. Where will this aircraft be station at now? In LAX or DFW or JFK? Chuck
28 SJC-Alien: Many thanks to all of you who responded about the video..and with a wealth of information I must add. SJC is finally starting to build the middle term
29 Jacobin777: And they are going to close the observation deck too.. .. There are people who are trying to get SJC managment to have another observation deck, as i
30 Sjcfly: I forgot to thank SJC-Alien for posting the video and his comments. A follow up to my go- around with on the 777 at SJC, I knew one of the flight atte
31 SJC-Alien: Thanks SJCfly - I knew a few people that worked the QQ counter back then- all very nice people. That would have been a great running joke. I went in a
32 SJC-Alien: not being mean, jacobin777...isn't that an LAX photo ...maybe? No mountains like that east of SJC,,other than the coast range which aren't too tall.
33 Centrair: SJC-Alien. Thanks for the video. No cannon? How about in NRT? Is SJC still a hub then or a focus city for AA? So I have to ask...What is AA's Asian Ga
34 BDL2STL2PVG: Does AA still retain one of the precious slots at NRT to use as it sees fit? I know that HNL-NRT was heavily rumored a year or so ago, but I have not
35 Commavia: Indeed, it does seem like a waste of resource, as I believe AA is, indeed, relinquishing the slot back to the Narita Airport authorities. HNL-NRT was
36 Tundra767: I saw the flight land. Little did I know this was the last flight.
37 SJC-Alien: CENTRair- nope, no water cannon......(didn't think they would...the tower even tried to impart some 'memories' during radio talk, but the talk back wa
38 BDL2STL2PVG: Regarding that, AA could use a 763 for the HNL run as previously planned or even to add a 2nd daily to/from LAX. For that matter, if the SJC-NRT was
39 Commavia: The original plan was to route a 763 from LAX through HNL to NRT. The plane would fly LAX-HNL at night, RON at HNL, fly out to NRT the next morning a
40 Jacobin777: Hmmm..interesting.. ..I was discussing that with a local spotter..that is why I came up with my comment..I guess its something which will have to be
41 Legacyins: To supply some numbers for the last inbound/outbound flight(s) On 10/27: AA 129 had 170 PAXS Outbound. On 10/28: AA 128 had 228 PAXS Inbound. A side n
42 Jacobin777: Now here is something funny... "Last week, Frontier Airlines announced that it has applied to the Department of Transportation to begin service from S
43 SJC-Alien: ..........Thanks Jacobin777 - I saw that article too.....but being a 'jaded' SJC watcher,,,,I'll hafta wait and see. I agree with you, AA lost big buc
44 Jacobin777: Yah...I think I'll wait until I hear an "official" announcement before I believe anything... IF AA couldn't make NRT work, besides UA who else can (a
45 BDL2STL2PVG: Yes, my bad, how well I know that. We were on the 332 on NW 027 in August and NRT had rain showers. Our hold consisted of exactly one rotation and th
46 Jacobin777: West Coast Asia with either an A332 or B767 (not that there are any 767 flights to Asia from SFO).. is a bit pushing it....
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