Domestically, the most important airport in south Florida is Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), not Miami (MIA). American Airlines has a big hub in Miami for operations to Latin America and the Caribbean, but that doesn’t overcome the fact that Miami is much more expense to operate from than Ft. Lauderdale.
Since May 2007, US Airways’ only service from its Phoenix (PHX) hub to south Florida has been to FLL. Last month, in anticipation of its assumed-soon-to-close merger with American Airlines, the carrier said that it was resuming Miami service effective in late October. Then the DOJ announced they were going to sue to block the merger. And in response, that US Airways’ PHX-MIA flight is now not going to happen. Good one, and not really a sign they think they can beat the government in court.
