American Airlines plans to bulk up its New York presence through September by adding routes, expanding frequencies and upgrading aircraft on certain citypairs.
The carrier last month announced new American Eagle service from LaGuardia Airport to Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky., and mainline service from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Las Vegas. On existing routes from JFK, American is upping frequencies to San Francisco International Airport from five to six daily flights; adding five weekly flights to Port Au Prince, Haiti; and adding two frequencies weekly to Caracas, Venezuela. The carrier, meanwhile, is adding mainline jets on routes between New York and Atlanta and Raleigh.
David Cush, AA senior vice president of global sales, told BTN that American is being more vocal about its presence in New York and competing with the likes of JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines, among others. JetBlue has a stronghold on the New York-Las Vegas market and recently announced plans to operate between New York and San Francisco. When Delta last year bulked up international and domestic service from JFK by adding 46 new departures to 17 destinations, COO Jim Whitehurst noted the level of service was "more than American Airlines, our nearest competitor
(BTN, March 20, 2006)."
"While others have been trumpeting a little bit more, we've been adding to our breadth of schedule," Cush said, noting that many of the service changes are directly targeted toward business travelers.
The carrier continues to move forward with premium services in the New York market. Cush said that in May, "all Boeing 767 international flights out of JFK will be with the new-generation seat. It will be the first market where we'll have 100 percent lie-flat business." The carrier also is upgrading its transcontinental product with a new first class seat and improved entertainment systems. "All those flights touch New York," Cush said. "A lot of our product investment has been very focused on the business traveler and premium traveler."
Cush said the carrier has invested $1.1 billion in its new JFK terminal, the first phase of which opened in 2005. The next phase is on schedule for May, when the carrier plans to consolidate all of its international flights to the terminal and open a second Admirals Club lounge. The last phase is set for July. "The old terminal will see a wrecking ball shortly thereafter," Cush said.