The Friedman Files

All P.R. people know the time to put out a downbeat story is on a Friday night – especially before a holiday weekend.  That’ll bury it.

So, on the Friday before Labor Day, with a major hurricane headed for the gulf coast, and gobbling up media attention everywhere, American Airlines announced it’s putting it’s plans for a non-stop flight to Beijing on hold.  http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D92UP4A00.htm

Yes, this is the same China route that AA fought to for two years to get.  Remember all the signs at DFW airport urging you to support American’s bid for the China business?  Remember the rally the airline held complete with Chinese dancers in 2006 when it first announced the bid?

American lost the first round in the fight to get the China route, beat by United Airlines’ bid to fly capital to capital from Washington D.C. to Beijing.  But they got it one year later, after bidding to fly Chicago-Beijing instead of DFW-Beijing.  The DFW route became entangled in a contract dispute between the airline and its pilots.

So what happened in two years to take the China idea from top of the charts to bottom of the barrel?  The answer is fuel prices.  It’s a long and expensive flight to operate and it’s just not a time when airlines feel like they can take that kind of risk.