MAH4546 From Sweden, joined Jan 2001, 31107 posts, RR: 74 Posted (5 years 8 months 4 weeks 4 hours ago) and read 5960 times:
American Airlines will significantly expand service to Providenciales on 13 December 2007. Miami-Providenciales is actually one of the ten highest yielding routes in AA's network, so the additions are not a huge shock. They currently offer daily service to JFK and two daily flights to Miami. They will add new service to Dallas and Boston, operating Saturdays and Sundays seasonally, and a third daily flight to Miami.
New BOS/DFW service:
AA 2219 DFW 1025-1505 PLS SaSu 738
AA 2120 PLS 1610-1930 DFW SaSu 738
New Boston-Providenciales:
AA 1501 BOS 1105-1430 PLS SaSu 752
AA 1524 PLS 1540-1915 BOS SaSu 752
MaverickM11 From United States of America, joined Apr 2000, 15720 posts, RR: 48 Reply 1, posted (5 years 8 months 4 weeks 4 hours ago) and read 5896 times:
I'm curious to see how DFW will do seeing as PLS (like a lot of Caribbean islands and some Eastern Mexican destinations) is not as well known off of the East Coast, nevermind west of the Mississippi.
MAH4546 From Sweden, joined Jan 2001, 31107 posts, RR: 74 Reply 2, posted (5 years 8 months 4 weeks 4 hours ago) and read 5871 times:
Quoting MaverickM11 (Reply 1): I'm curious to see how DFW will do seeing as PLS (like a lot of Caribbean islands and some Eastern Mexican destinations) is not as well known off of the East Coast, nevermind west of the Mississippi.
The good thing is that you don't need to fill planes to make money to PLS. A 50% load could still be very profitable. We'll see how this works. Dallas-Montego Bay has been a poor performer since it launched. They are definitely going to yield here, rather than loads.
BOS-PLS is not actually "new" service; they offered it seasonally several years ago. I flew on it myself once. At the time, though, I belive it was Saturday-only.
MD90fan From Bahamas, joined Jul 2005, 2931 posts, RR: 7 Reply 6, posted (5 years 8 months 4 weeks 1 hour ago) and read 5553 times:
Quoting ScottB (Reply 3): BOS-PLS is not actually "new" service; they offered it seasonally several years ago. I flew on it myself once. At the time, though, I belive it was Saturday-only.
x2, It even had the same flight numbers, in fact, I saw the route operating last winter.
Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 4): That being said, im curious to see how DFW-PLS preforms. DFW is exactly AA's favorite hub for the Carribiean
I don't see it hanging on too long (unless they get a contract), PLS is typically high-end and is a East Coast destination, not DFW. Besides, if AA has enough trouble with larger resorts/holiday destinations, what makes them think they could do well on Dallas-Provo? Nearby NAS gets DFW service and the loads are only stellar, with the flight operating with the CRJ-700 for most of the time.
Quoting MAH4546 (Reply 5):
It started at 5x weekly, IIRC. Yields are terrible, but it fills when its supposed to.
Typical of DFW Holiday routes, for example the San Jose and Liberia flights...
Vxg From United States of America, joined May 2004, 102 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (5 years 8 months 4 weeks 1 hour ago) and read 5469 times:
How is the parking space situation at the PLS ramp at this time of day (15:05 - 15:40)? When I was there earlier this year there was one point in the afternoon (around 1:30 p.m.) when pretty much every parking stand was occupied. There were 2 US Airways planes, an American jets, and one Delta 757 parked on the ramp in addition to the island hoppers from SkyKing, AirTC and Global. Presumably these two flights (mid afternoon) will arrive after the current rush time.
Now both destinations fluxuate. In hurricane season, DFW-MBJ goes weekly, but goes up to 5x weekly when Hurricane season passes (which doesnt sound like a flight thats hurting that badly). As for DFW-LIR, it goes 2x weekly in the fall and goes back to 3x weekly in the Winter.
Quoting MD90fan (Reply 6): I don't see it hanging on too long (unless they get a contract), PLS is typically high-end and is a East Coast destination, not DFW
The problem remains that most people on the West Coast want nothing to do with the Carribiean when we have Hawaii and the Mexican Riviera closer and easier to access. DFW would in theory work great for East-West travel, but there isnt much traffic from the West to the Carribiean. The same problem remains with East-Coast-Hawaii flights.
DFW Fan Boy: Im crude, irreverent, and blunt, but Im not clueless. I offer no apologies.
Incitatus From Brazil, joined Feb 2005, 3777 posts, RR: 14 Reply 10, posted (5 years 8 months 4 weeks ago) and read 5401 times:
Quoting MaverickM11 (Reply 1): I'm curious to see how DFW will do seeing as PLS (like a lot of Caribbean islands and some Eastern Mexican destinations) is not as well known off of the East Coast, nevermind west of the Mississippi.
That depends on the kind of traveler. In my last trip to PLS my seat mate was from Calgary, Canada. Like a large chunk of PLS travelers, he was there for diving. That is one type. Another popular type at PLS over December/January is the Northeast Jewish single professional. Maybe those Jewish single professionals from California will discover the network potential of a trip to Turks.
Turks has been hard to get to from the West Coast and required overnights at Miami for some travelers. Maybe the Dallas connection will make it more popular.
DBCooper From Brazil, joined Jun 2004, 188 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 5136 times:
Quoting Incitatus (Reply 10): Turks has been hard to get to from the West Coast and required overnights at Miami for some travelers. Maybe the Dallas connection will make it more popular
The 1025 DFW departure time is too early to pick up any West Coast connections.
Longhornmaniac From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 3094 posts, RR: 48 Reply 12, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 5068 times:
Quoting DBCooper (Reply 11):
The 1025 DFW departure time is too early to pick up any West Coast connections.
Save for redeyes, of course. Then again, that's an uncomfortably long layover in DFW for someone who's just redeyed in.
Flyingcat From United States of America, joined May 2007, 510 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 4834 times:
Quoting MAH4546 (Reply 2): A 50% load could still be very profitable.
When the flights are so few that is true but when you add more flights to the network across different hubs that can change.
PanAm747 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 4242 posts, RR: 10 Reply 14, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 4721 times:
Good for PLS!!
Question: Where do planes come from for these routes that only fly once or twice a week? It would have to be from a route that is only Monday through Friday, but I can't think of any offhand...
Pan Am:The World's Most Experienced Airline - P(oor) S(ailor's) A(irline): San Diego's Hometown Airline-Catch Our Smile!
SkyyMaster From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 15, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 8 hours ago) and read 3778 times:
Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 4): DFW is exactly AA's favorite hub for the Carribiean.
Say what? Are you forgetting a certain city in south Florida? As others point out it, there isn't a huge demand for west coast to Caribbean service, so this comment puzzles me, unless it's a joke?
BigGSFO From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 2755 posts, RR: 7 Reply 16, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 8 hours ago) and read 3717 times:
Quoting SkyyMaster (Reply 15): Say what? Are you forgetting a certain city in south Florida? As others point out it, there isn't a huge demand for west coast to Caribbean service, so this comment puzzles me, unless it's a joke?
Not to mention that other hub in Puerto Rico...yeah, DFW is one gateway to the Caribbean but hardly AA's primary one (or "favorite").
DFWEagle From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 1064 posts, RR: 9 Reply 17, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 3691 times:
Quoting PanAm747 (Reply 14): Question: Where do planes come from for these routes that only fly once or twice a week? It would have to be from a route that is only Monday through Friday, but I can't think of any offhand...
There are quite a few small reductions in high-frequency routes on weekends. This rotation for example only operates Mondays through Fridays -:
AA712 DFW 1025 LGA 1440 738 MTWTF
AA753 LGA 1515 DFW 1815 738 MTWTF
The DFW arrival/departure times are very similar to the proposed PLS service. On Saturdays and Sundays, the plane could simply fly out to PLS instead of LGA. It is a good way to increase aircraft utilisation and prevent it from simply sitting at DFW for 7 or 8 hours.
LAXdude1023 From Lebanon, joined Sep 2006, 6779 posts, RR: 25 Reply 18, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 3638 times:
Quoting SkyyMaster (Reply 15): Say what? Are you forgetting a certain city in south Florida? As others point out it, there isn't a huge demand for west coast to Caribbean service, so this comment puzzles me, unless it's a joke?
Sorry, typing error. I meant to say DFW isnt exactly AA's favorite hub for the Carribiean. And I was the one who pointed out that the West Coast demand to the Carribiean was very low. So, it would stand to reason that DFW isnt a great hub for the Carribiean.
Sorry, just a typo.
One thing I will say about DFW is that its AA's "Jack of all trades" as far as service. I would even argue that its the most important hub for AA, but a great Carribiean hub it isnt.
DFW Fan Boy: Im crude, irreverent, and blunt, but Im not clueless. I offer no apologies.
SkyyMaster From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 19, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 3374 times:
Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 18): One thing I will say about DFW is that its AA's "Jack of all trades" as far as service. I would even argue that its the most important hub for AA, but a great Carribiean hub it isnt.
OK, somehow I had a feeling that might have either been a typo or those mushrooms from the 60's had come back to haunt me again. I agree, having lived in Dallas for 2 decades and seeing AA grow there, it's by far the most important on the system.
ElmoTheHobo From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 1515 posts, RR: 1 Reply 20, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 3293 times:
Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 9): As for DFW-LIR, it goes 2x weekly in the fall and goes back to 3x weekly in the Winter.
Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 9): Now both destinations fluxuate. In hurricane season, DFW-MBJ goes weekly, but goes up to 5x weekly when Hurricane season passes (which doesnt sound like a flight thats hurting that badly
Most US carriers take the mid September to mid November period to take capacity offline and do scheduled maintenance checks, it certainly isn't an accurate reflection of the flight's performance.
Quoting MD90fan (Reply 6): Typical of DFW Holiday routes, for example the San Jose and Liberia flights...
I'd venture to say that the low yields and marginal profitability that Dallas-Lat Am routes generally turn out to be is worth it for the airline - it keeps lower yielding connections away from New York and Miami.
LAXdude1023 From Lebanon, joined Sep 2006, 6779 posts, RR: 25 Reply 21, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 3231 times:
Quoting ElmoTheHobo (Reply 20): Most US carriers take the mid September to mid November period to take capacity offline and do scheduled maintenance checks, it certainly isn't an accurate reflection of the flight's performance.
I couldnt agree more! Most international flights on AA must prefom very well from DFW. I say that because AA is not the type of carrier that will let a route continue if it isnt meeting expectations. DFW-KIX, ORD-NGO, MIA-MAN, etc. are good examples. The flights might not have been complete failures, but they didnt have the potential AA thought and they were cut. I would think an airline like DL would be more likely to let a failing route continue than would AA.
Quoting SkyyMaster (Reply 19): OK, somehow I had a feeling that might have either been a typo or those mushrooms from the 60's had come back to haunt me again. I agree, having lived in Dallas for 2 decades and seeing AA grow there, it's by far the most important on the system.
It was a long day! Theres no doubt that DFW is the biggest piece of the AA puzzle.
DFW Fan Boy: Im crude, irreverent, and blunt, but Im not clueless. I offer no apologies.
Past history. DL has had routes that have been in trouble (certain ATL-Meixco routes like MID come to mind), that they waited for a while to pull the plug. AA has been a lot quicker to pull the plug on routes like DFW-KIX without giving it much of a chance. Personally I like DL's way better because certain routes need time to work, if a route doesnt shoe immediate promise AA cuts it. DL is also quick to introduce new routes while AA is more conservative.
DFW Fan Boy: Im crude, irreverent, and blunt, but Im not clueless. I offer no apologies.
BNinMSY From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 332 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 6 days 3 hours ago) and read 2926 times:
I feel this route will be exceptionally successful ... PLS Is essentially a 'new' island destination for those in Texas/Louisiana and the midwest ... the new service will heighten awareness of the island. There are numerous hotel / condo developments coming into being.
Residents of N. Texas are always in quest of something NEW - the latest 'new' thing. PLS offers that.
I suspect you might see an increase in nonstop frequency in a year or so.
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