Two more new routes will begin in June.
Summary
- American Airlines has just started Philadelphia-Nice, one of three new routes from its Pennsylvania hub.
- They join Dallas/Fort Worth-Barcelona, which is also new.
- Philadelphia has 14 American routes to Europe this summer, down from 19 in 2019.
American’s European expansion continues, with four brand-new routes beginning this summer. Dallas/Fort Worth to Barcelona took off for the first time on February 23, when it operated until March 2 for the gigantic World Mobile Congress. The route began ‘properly’ in April. The May 6 inauguration of Philadelphia-Nice followed it. Two more routes will start soon.
This article does not look at route resumptions.
The Most Notable New Airline Routes This Week
Routes go to the heart of airlines and airports, and I celebrate them in my weekly newsletter.
Half of the new routes have started
The quartet is summarized in the following table. Most launches are of historic significance for American. All four routes are summer-seasonal, as would be expected, with demand partly for cruises. Two airport pairs are only scheduled to last for about four months.
Photo: Nice Côte d’Azur Airport
The trio of Philadelphia services are each served daily; a hefty frequency given minimal point-to-point (P2P) demand. In the Q3 2023 period (July-September), at the height of demand, booking data shows they had between 2,000-2,500 P2P passengers. In other words, there were no more than 14 passengers daily each way, even at the height of summer. They will have to rely hugely on transfer traffic.
Routing |
Operating period* |
Flights (aircraft**) |
Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Dallas/Fort Worth-Barcelona |
April 4-August 5 |
Daily (787-9, 777-200ER, 787-8) |
See earlier for details of its ‘non-official’ launch. American also serves Barcelona from Chicago, Miami, JFK, and Philadelphia |
Philadelphia-Nice |
May 6-October 5 |
Daily (787-9) |
American’s first time serving Nice. Second French destination, joining Paris CDG. It is the first time it has served more than one French airport concurrently |
Philadelphia-Naples |
June 5-October 25 |
Daily (787-8) |
American’s first time serving Naples. Fourth Italian destination, joining Milan, Rome, and Venice |
Philadelphia-Copenhagen |
June 6-October 5 |
Daily (787-9, 787-8) |
American’s first time serving Denmark. Copenhagen is the carrier’s only destination in Scandinavia. It last served the region in the fateful year of 2001, when it flew to Stockholm |
* From the US |
** Ordered by flights |
A breakdown of American’s routes
American’s European services go from 10 of its hubs and focus cities. While the oneworld member’s Philadelphia network has fallen from 19 routes in summer 2019 to 14 now, it still has the most links and the most European flights.
The following list only applies to the summer, which runs until October 26 this year for northern airlines, based on IATA slot seasons. American’s network will be different at other times.
The 11 US & Canadian Transatlantic Routes Served By 4 Or More Airlines
Which do you think made the cut this May-September?
- Philadelphia (14 summer routes): Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dublin, Lisbon, London Heathrow, Madrid, Naples, Nice, Paris CDG, Rome, Venice, Zurich
- Dallas/Fort Worth (eight routes): Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Madrid, Paris CDG, Rome
- New York JFK (seven routes): Athens, Barcelona, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan, Paris CDG, Rome
- Chicago O’Hare (seven routes): Athens, Barcelona, Dublin, London Heathrow, Paris CDG, Rome, Venice
- Charlotte (seven routes): Dublin, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Madrid, Munich, Paris CDG, Rome
- New York JFK (seven routes): Athens, Barcelona, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan, Paris CDG, Rome
- Miami (four routes): Barcelona, London Heathrow, Madrid, Paris CDG (back on October 25, just before American switches to winter schedules on October 27)
- Boston (one route): London Heathrow
- Los Angeles (one route): London Heathrow
- Raleigh Durham (one route): London Heathrow
Will you be flying the carrier to Europe soon? If so, let us know your destination in the comment section.