American Airlines has announced a total of 17 new routes out of which 8 are just from Orlando.
Summer demand
Citing strong travel demand, American Airlines is offering more than 150 new routes across its network. The airline is expecting to fly more than 90% of its domestic seat capacity compared to summer 2019, and it will also fly around 80% of its international seat capacity compared to summer 2019.
Brian Znotins, Vice President of Network Planning, American Airlines, stated the following on this:
Throughout the pandemic, our trademark has been to build a schedule based on what customers tell us they want and need. And today, they are telling us they’re eager to get back to travel. With our summer schedule, we can offer customers the best network and continue welcoming them safely back to the skies.
Related: Delta airlines unveils 39 new and expanded routes to over 20 destinations
Expanding in Orlando
If you are planning to visit Disneyland, then there are more chances than ever that American Airlines will have a flight for you.
To support the increased leisure demand from Orlando, the airline is adding new 8 nonstop Saturday-only routes from the below mentioned cities:
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Nashville
- Memphis
- Pittsburgh
- Raleigh-Durham
- Indianapolis
- Dayton, Ohio
- Louisville
All of these flights will be operated by American Eagle partners on the Embraer 175 aircraft from 5th June to 14th August.
The eight new Orlando routes join the airline’s previously announced daily service from Austin, which is slated to begin on 6th May with a Boeing B737-800.
Brian Znotins, Vice President of Network Planning, American Airlines, in an interview with The Points Guy, said:
We’re offering 51 departures to Orlando on Saturdays this summer. That’s 2% additional capacity compared to the same period in 2019
Related: Southwest airlines announces major summer expansion with 36 new routes
Eight new routes to the great outdoors
Starting 2nd June, American Airlines will connect Nashville with Raleigh-Durham on a daily basis using both the Airbus A319 and Embraer 175. American will go head-to-head with Southwest on the route, which currently plans two daily departures this summer.
From 5th June to 15th August, the airline will fly between Raleigh-Durham and Destin Fort Walton Beach only on Saturdays.
Austin will get its 11th new American route when service to Nassau in Bahamas launches on Saturday between 5th June and 14th August. American recently unveiled a major Austin-focused expansion aimed at capturing both business and leisure travelers headed to and from the rapidly growing Texas capital.
Out of Dallas, the carrier will launch more leisure focused routes to destinations such as Bangor in Maine, Burlington in Vermont.
Miami is getting new American flights with three Saturday-only routes to Bangor in Maine, Huntsville in Alabama, Milwaukee and Rochester in New York.
Out of airports in New York, American is adding more flights to Asheville, Montana and Jackson Hole. These are mostly outdoor leisure routes with easy access to national parks, outdoor hiking, trails, and plenty of local food and culture scenes.
Related: United announces 29 new point-to-point routes; resumes international routes
Miami getting B777 service from New York and Los Angeles
Miami International Airport (MIA) is getting a big schedule boost. All services from the city to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport will run on Boeing 777s this summer. This means more capacity and a far better premium cabin than the narrowbodies that typically fly these routes.
Service boosts in Latin America
International demand recovery is slower than domestic recovery. In large part, because of border restrictions, American is expecting its international capacity to be down about 20% compared to the same period in 2019. However, the airline wants to continue to fly its breadth of destinations, even if it does not fly the full schedule it flew in 2019.
The rebound in short-haul international travel is primarily driven by both strong VFR (visiting friends and relatives) traffic, as well as leisure-focused tourism.
In response to the surge in demand in Latin America and Caribbean, American Airlines will be deploying larger aircrafts like the Boeing B787 Dreamliner and Boeing B777-200ER out of Miami.
The routes which will be getting a Boeing B787 Dreamliner service out of Miami are:
- Cali, Columbia
- Medellin, Columbia
- Lima, Peru
- Quito, Ecuador
- Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Port au Prince, Haiti
The routes which will be getting a Boeing B777-200ER service out of Miami are:
- Bogota, Columbia
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cutting flights elsewhere
While new routes from JFK to Greece and from both New York and Miami to Israel and Miami to Suriname will launch this summer, the airline will be making cuts in other parts of the world.
This summer , American Airlines will not be flying to Edinburgh in Scotland, Shannon in Ireland and HongKong. The airline will, however, continue to serve these markets with its partners. British Airways and Aer Lingus will help the airline serve Edinburgh and Shannon through connections. Cathay Pacific will be running flights to Hong Kong, albeit at a reduced schedule until the city’s restrictions ease.
Featured image by OneWorld
What do you think of American Airlines’ summer schedule? Let me know in the comments section below.