American Airlines Flight 587 - Cultural Background

Cultural Background

In 2001 there were 51 weekly direct flights between New York City and the Dominican Republic, with additional flights offered in December. Most of the flights were offered by American Airlines, and the airline was described as having a virtual monopoly on the route. Around 90% of the passengers on the accident flight were of Dominican descent.

The Guardian describes the flight as having "cult status" in Washington Heights, a Dominican area of Manhattan. Belkis Lora, a relative of a passenger on the crashed flight, said "Every Dominican in New York has either taken that flight or knows someone who has. It gets you there early. At home there are songs about it." Kugel said "For many Dominicans in New York, these journeys home are the defining metaphor of their complex push-pull relationship with their homeland; they embody, vividly and poignantly, the tug between their current lives and their former selves. That fact gave Monday's tragedy a particularly horrible resonance for New York's Dominicans." He also said "Even before Monday's crash, Dominicans had developed a complex love-hate relationship with American Airlines, complaining about high prices and baggage restrictions even while favoring the carrier over other airlines that used to travel the same route." David Rivas, the owner of the New York City travel agency Rivas Travel, said "For the Dominican to go to Santo Domingo during Christmas and summer is like the Muslims going to Mecca." In 1996 Kinito Mendez played the song El avión which mentions Flight 587.

The crash did not affect bookings for the New York to Santo Domingo route. Dominicans continued to book travel on the flights.