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Home » American Airlines » Victory for United (and JetBlue and Virgin) as American suspends SFO-BOS service
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Victory for United (and JetBlue and Virgin) as American suspends SFO-BOS service

Matthew June 30, 2010 Leave a Comment

Although AA is spinning the announcement that they will be suspending non-stop service between San Francisco and Boston, claiming that they are simply focusing on their hubs in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Miami, any astute observer can see that AA has lost the war against JetBlue, Virgin America, and United on this competitive route.

As Scott McCartney points out, the story of SFO-BOS is a familiar one the last decade in the airline business. Low-cost carriers move in, forcing prices down. Legacy carriers with higher costs suffer and eventually pull out.

Between 1998 and 2009, United and American were essentially the only two non-stop operators on the route (JetBlue offered limited seasonal service). In 2009, Virgin entered the market with daily non-stop flights between the two cities. Then JetBlue began year-around daily service between BOS and SFO. Suddenly, 30,000 seats a month on that route ticked up 53,000 seats a month. Supply outpaced demand and AA becomes the latest casualty to the "low-cost" (read: non-Legacy) revolution.

I think United is the big winner here. Yes, Virgin does have a competitive first class product that will no doubt attract some of AA’s customers. But UA, also hubbed in SFO with a domestic and international route network much more robust than VX, stands to gain more business flyers who will choose a non-stop flight over a connection in Chicago or Dallas on American.

AA’s exodus from the market will likely mean higher ticket prices on United, JetBlue, and Virgin, so I’m not happy with this news. But this announcement is not surprising.

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About Author

Matthew

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120 countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying international relations, American government, and later obtaining a law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House. His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles. Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the direction and coordination of company travel.

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