American Airlines has resumed its seasonal flights between Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth, with the capacity to fly a lot more passengers than before.
American restarted its Dallas flights May 6 after pausing them Dec. 4. But now American is flying the 128-seat Airbus A319 instead of the 76-seat Embraer E175 it had been using at the facility, according to Airport Manager Jon Stout.
American’s decision to switch-out the aircraft meant more extensive groundwork had to be completed before the Dallas flights could resume, according to Stout.
“They’ve hired more people, and they are getting new equipment delivered because it takes a bigger tug and different tow bar,” Stout said last month.
Bringing in the bigger planes indicates American is investing further in the regional airport. It also suggests the airline may be considering making the Dallas flight year-round at some point, Stout has previously stated.
American’s flights to Phoenix from the Santa Rosa airport are year-round.
American Airlines flew 3,812 travelers through the Sonoma County facility in March, the most recent figures available. The March figure was down 51.4% from March 2023. American’s load factor — the measure of how full airplanes are on average — was 95% in March.
Airport officials are expected to release April’s passenger figures soon.
