Summary
- American Airlines is upgrading its summer service by launching a route from Dallas Fort Worth to Barcelona on April 5, using Boeing 787-9 aircraft with 285 seats.
- American Airlines will now use Boeing 787-9s instead of -8s for the route between Chicago O’Hare and Venice Marco Polo airports, with service beginning on June 5.
- American Airlines will upgauge its service from JFK to Rome by replacing the Boeing 777-200 with a 777-300ER, and later switching back to the -200 for service to Paris during the Olympics.
The crazy holiday travel period of 2023 is now behind us, and airlines have already set their sights on this summer. Yesterday, London Gatwick Airport released its summer slot information, including Norse Atlantic’s request to fly to Harry Reid International Airport. Today, American Airlines shared some network changes made over the holiday with Simple Flying.
Upgrades for summer
Last year, American Airlines announced it was launching a route from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport in June, growing its network from its headquarters. Certainly following a high booking demand, the airline decided to launch the route sooner, and now, services will begin on April 5. According to Cirium, American will deploy its Boeing 787-9s with 285 seats in a three-cabin configuration to Barcelona. The 787-9s have 30 Flagship Business seats, 21 Premium Economy, and 234 Economy.
Denmark, France, Italy: American Airlines Boosts European Network With 3 New Cities
The airline will fly daily to 14 European cities from Philadelphia next summer.
In 2023, American had also announced it would return to Venice Marco Polo Airport from its hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and would use the smallest variant of the Boeing 787 family, the -8 for the route. Now, the airline plans to use the 787-9s. No other airline will connect the two cities this summer, and Cirium shows service on the 4,670-mile route, will also launch on June 5.
The airline’s last update for summer 2024 is that it will upgauge its service from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome. Scheduled initially with a Boeing 777-200, flights will now be operated by a 777-300ER set in a four-cabin configuration, including the Flagship First cabin. At the end of July, the 777-300ERs will be replaced by the -200 so American can deploy the four-cabin aircraft to Paris for the Olympics.
Comparing European services in Texas and New York City
At the summer peak, American will operate flights to eight European destinations from DFW; Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Dublin, Rome, Frankfurt, London, and Madrid. Data shows there are 821 roundtrip flights scheduled from the Texas airport, totaling more than 228,000 seats. United is another carrier with a hub in Texas, but its European network from there does not compare to American’s in Dallas. From George Bush Intercontinental Airport, United has 300 roundtrip flights scheduled, a small margin over British Airways’ flights to Texas. United also serves half the number of destinations that American does, flying to Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt, and Munich.
Photo:Â Matheus Obst | Shutterstock
From JFK, American has the second-largest European market share, losing out to Delta Air Lines, who operates one of its biggest hubs in New York. Data shows there are 7,082 roundtrip flights scheduled from JFK to Europe in June. Of those, 2,056 are Delta flights, with American coming in second place with 600 flights. From New York, American flies to Athens, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, and Milan.
