It’s a familiar problem at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): with intense competition, an airline finds profit margins thin, making the carrier more likely to seek routes with higher margins. The latest cutback comes from American Airlines, with a decision to axe its seasonal Auckland route. But it’s about more than one route cut: it represents the enigma of LAX and the particular struggle of AA to find its transpacific niche.
American Airlines Will End Auckland Service From Los Angeles
American Airlines shrunk at LAX duding the pandemic, not just reducing frequencies due to reduced demand, but totally eliminating both domestic and international routes. Its “international reset” included the elimination of five longhaul routes from Los Angeles:
- Beijing (PEK)
- Buenos Aires (EZE)
- Hong Kong (HKG)
- Sao Paulo (GRU)
- Shanghai (PVG)
That left four:
- Auckland (AKL)
- London (LHR)
- Sydney (SYD)
- Tokyo (NRT)
Tokyo remains suspended, but will return, but in its latest route shakeup, American Airlines has announced that Auckland service will not return.
Instead, AA plans to operate a new Dallas (DFW) – Auckland service starting on October 29, 2022 using a Boeing 787-9. As AA explained:
Providing service to DFW allows us to connect more customers to New Zealand with a more convenient schedule.
It’s an interesting move, considering that AA has previously blamed the lack of Boeing Dreamliners for its pullback in service from Los Angeles. Now the culprit is more connections and a more convenient schedule.
AA: discussing AA’s stagnation at LAX pic.twitter.com/6NxqQkIhta
— 🇺🇦 JonNYC 🇺🇦 (@xJonNYC) April 10, 2022
Will Qantas resume its Los Angeles – Auckland service? Unlikely, unless it is able to get its hand on more aircraft or uses an Airbus A330.
AA’s LAX Problems Point To Lack Of International Strategy
I’ve discussed the problems U.S. carriers generally run into at LAX and won’t do so again here – you can check out…