aerace wrote:LondonFed wrote:BarrenLucidity wrote:
PHL is probably the worst hub though in every aspect except capacity.
Other than lacking a proper (albeit long delayed) international first class lounge - why is it worse in every aspect? The B/C concourses have been upgraded, restaurants and amenities throughout. The airport is quite compact making 90% of AA connections pretty quick and painless. No need to jump on an absurdly over-engineered train to drive me to weird far out places. To me, MIA, DFW, and CLT all feel like over-crowded, sprawling zoos relative to PHL.
Literally just transited via CLT to get back to PHL and zoo is 1000% the best way to describe that place. People were on top of each other, every food place had lines, bathrooms were packed to the gills. Was incredibly unpleasant.
American under-invests in the "franchise" element of its hubs and key markets, relative to its next 2 largest competitors. AA loves CLT because the costs are lower and it controls much of the traffic there. The airport was never designed to be a 600-800 a day operation and while improvements are continuously being made, it is a generally unpleasant place, with narrow concourses, low-quality food options, with a few exceptions and challenging to make connections given its layout. DFW's fundamental design is from the 1960s when the airport was conceived and 1970s when it was built. It too has its limitations, but with a captive market, AA doesn't seem to feel the need do to either of these airports, what DL does with its hubs or UA has been doing with DEN, EWR, etc...
American's balance sheet remains constrained by its huge debt, a necessary hangover from its resistance for Chapter 11 in the wake of 9/11 and the need to re-fleet in 2011 with a massive, 400 plane order. The airline is running a better operation nowadays, but it lags in the perception department. Flew BCN-JFK a week ago. Flight left early, arrived early, and was serviced on a well maintained 777 but the crew were indifferent, never made eye contact, made few announcements, and just did their jobs (well) but without going much beyond the scope. DL and UA create the illusion they provide a better passenger experience. Whether they actually do or not, is debatable.