American Airlines Is Not Prioritizing Launching Very Long Flights

At a typical consumer-facing company, members of the product team might be the all stars. They design cool gadgets with the newest technology, and if their creations sell well, the company succeeds. Product teams are important at airlines, too. They design new seats and lounges, scour the world for food and wine, and source soft goods like pillows and blankets. But they don't necessarily make a carrier tick. Instead, an airline's rockstars are often network planning executives, who decide where the carrier will fly, how often, at what times, and with what aircraft. They determine whether you'll have a 45-minute connection in Charlotte, or a three-hour one. They make sure planes are in the air as much as possible — the only place where they make money. From a customer angle, it should make sense. Travelers, especially lucrative business customers, want efficient routings, and prefer to fly at the most convenient times. When they connect, most want to spend as little time at t