1. We get paid block or better. Flying slow doesn’t increase our income. AA flights have massive block times so you can fly slow and still arrive 5 minutes early.

2. Flying slow saves a little gas in flight, and saves extra taxi time fuel, as our gate will likely not be occupied upon landing.

3. Flying slow reduces the chances of arriving early and waiting for a gate, which is poor customer service. Customers don’t even notice a cruise that’s an extra 10 minutes, but sitting on the taxiway for 10 minutes and staying buckled is “absurd”. Our mainline partners get higher satisfaction from their customers.

4. Flying slow keeps our historical block times up, making future trips higher credit and more productive, as block is built on data from previous flights.

5. We get a little extra in our logbooks to get us out of this dumpster fire of an airline sooner.

Literally all parties win.