This is hardly surprising, but also something I would never have expected a few years ago …
American beef to Miami to Los Angeles schedule
American Airlines updated its May flight schedule overnight, changing its flight schedule between Miami and Los Angeles. American Airlines will operate Boeing 777 flights between Miami and Los Angeles six times a day between May 6 and June 2, 2021::
- The airline will fly four 273-seat 777-200ERs a day
- The airline will fly two 304-seat 777-300ERs a day
American will fly 777s between MIA & LAX 6 times a day
What are the practical implications of this?
- All business and first class passengers receive completely flat beds
- 777s have Premium Economy, but American doesn’t sell these seats as a standalone cabin. So when you book a seat in the main cabin (which some Elite members are entitled to for free), you can choose a Premium Economy seat at no additional cost
- The two daily 777-300ERs even offer a premium product with four cabins
Two daily flights will include a first class cabin
In the past, Americans sometimes ran 777 daily trips between Miami and Los Angeles, usually supplemented by A321. During the pandemic, we saw the airline fly several 777s between the two cities every day as there is no demand for these planes in other markets.
But this will be the first time Americans have exclusively operated 777s between the two airports. So that’s pretty important.
These aren’t the only big spots on the domestic May flight schedule outside of Miami, as Americans will also be flying 777s to:
- Boston (twice a day)
- New York JFK (4x daily)
- Philadelphia (1x daily)
- Dallas (2x daily)
Get a flatbed to many domestic destinations outside of Miami
The great irony of American capacity
While a moderate recovery for the airline is hopefully around the corner with the current vaccination schedule, it also perfectly captures the state in which the aviation industry is currently in. American Airlines is significantly expanding its capacity in a Transcon market, which also sells tickets for $ 50 one way.
And that actually represents a price hike because for a while we saw ~ $ 30 one-way tariffs.
This really shows how perverted the industry is right now. Imagine that you are in a situation where adding capacity with such tariffs makes sense. Of course, not everyone pays such low fares, but nonetheless, this is (unfortunately) probably still the best option Americans have for using these planes.
Ultimately, the American has to fly his 777 somewhere, mainly to keep the pilots informed. So the math on this route really depends on marginal costs like fuel, rather than aircraft leasing costs (the aircraft is leased one way or another), crew costs (since pilots and flight attendants are on the payroll one way or another), etc.
Miami is WILD right now
No wonder everyone goes to Miami, because there is no coronavirus there (Note: I’m sarcastic, but since this has confused some people, I should put it into practice. I do not know how Governor DeathSantis did it, but it’s really amazing to see a city like Miami completely defeat the coronavirus – there are no restrictions, 100% capacity everywhere, nightclubs open, etc.
It’s almost as impressive how Tanzania beats the coronavirus (except that Tanzania’s solution involves some kind of lemon and ginger herb thing while I’m pretty sure Miami’s solution is just way too much cheap cologne or something).
Honestly, I’m based in Miami, but I haven’t lived there in the past few months (more on that later in a post). I recently returned to Miami for a commitment and was in disbelief with the state of affairs. I love how the CDC warns of the risks of traveling to Mexico (when there are very strict restrictions in many places) when Miami is like Mykonos in the summer of 2019.
And not only are there no restrictions in Miami, but also many people who specifically visit the city due to the lack of restrictions. Perhaps it is comforting to assume that most of these people have already had coronavirus and are therefore less at risk for others?
Bottom line
American Airlines has updated its flight schedule for May and will only fly 777 between Miami and Los Angeles. While American has operated some 777 services in the market in the past, this will be the first time American has operated 777 exclusively between the two cities.
Are you surprised to see how many 777 Americans fly between Miami and Los Angeles?
