Recently got back after a few days in NY. Outbound we flew in with AA101 which was a fairly busy flight, a few spaces on middle seats. However, AA100 was almost empty. There were 5 of us in PEY, and when I was walking though Y, almost every passenger had rows to themselves, business was half full. On take off, it was fairly steep which possibly means light cargo load too (correct me if I am wrong).
I suppose that makes sense. I tend to go to NYC at least twice a year, usually January/February and November/December. I really enjoyed AA's inflight product, the downside to flying with AA is their ground staff and FA attitudes. I think AA Product +BA/CX/QF Crew attitude, AA will be an outstanding airline.
Never really a sign of performance. I have flown AA 107 a few times (LHR-JFK) on the 777-300ER and it has been a combination of 100% full and at other times a full Business Class cabin and maybe 20 people in Economy.