One of American Airlines’ most exciting new long haul routes is between Dallas and Tel Aviv. The launch of this route has just been delayed once again, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
In this post:
American’s Israel flight delayed again
In August 2019, American Airlines announced some cool international expansion, arguably the most exciting of which was a new Dallas to Tel Aviv flight. This was supposed to mark American’s return to Israel, as that seemed like a huge gap in the network of the world’s largest airline.
American was initially supposed to launch Dallas to Tel Aviv flights as of September 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic caused American to rethink that timeline. The route was then delayed by over a year, through October 2021, then it was delayed through January 2022, then it was delayed through March 2022, then it was delayed through May 2022, and now it has been delayed yet again.
American’s Dallas to Tel Aviv flight details
American Airlines’ Dallas to Tel Aviv flight is now on sale for travel as of June 4, 2022, representing a further delay of roughly one month. If you were booked on this flight prior to that date, you should have received a schedule change email. The published schedule is as follows:
AA18 Dallas to Tel Aviv departing 8:45PM arriving 6:00PM (+1 day)
AA19 Tel Aviv to Dallas departing 11:00PM arriving 5:00AM (+1 day)
The flight is scheduled to operate 3x weekly, eastbound on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, and westbound on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
The flight will cover a distance of 6,960 miles, and is blocked at 13hr15min to Israel, and 14hr from Israel. American will use a Boeing 777-200 for the route, featuring 273 seats. This includes 37 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats, and 212 economy seats.
In this case the delay can’t be blamed on Israel’s borders being shut, as the country did recently largely reopen to tourists, so that’s not a primary motivator here. Rather the main issue seems to be that American has a wide body aircraft shortage, as the carrier’s new Boeing 787s are delayed. In other words, this delay seems to primarily be because American is prioritizing other long haul routes. That suggests to me that future bookings on this route aren’t great.
American’s New York & Miami to Tel Aviv routes
The Dallas to Tel Aviv route was the first route to Israel that American announced, but the carrier ended up launching two new Israel routes before that. Specifically:
- American launched a New York to Tel Aviv route as of May 2021, as part of the new strategic alliance with JetBlue
- American launched a Miami to Tel Aviv route as of June 2021
While the Dallas to Tel Aviv route was announced first, it’s not surprising to see the New York and Miami to Tel Aviv routes launch first. Of the three routes, the Dallas to Tel Aviv route is the most reliant on connecting traffic, so it makes sense that American is holding off the longest on that route.
Bottom line
American Airlines’ Dallas to Tel Aviv flight has been delayed again, and is now expected to launch in June 2022. American has already launched routes from New York and Miami to Tel Aviv, so the Dallas route will be the last one to launch.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this route delayed even further, though personally I think it’s much more likely that this route will launch in 2022 than the Seattle to Bangalore route.
What do you make of American’s new Dallas to Tel Aviv route? Do you think it will launch in June 2022?
(Tip of the hat to @IshrionA)
Seems to me that the large Evangelical Christian presence in and surrounding DFW would make this route an easy sell. I have lots of clients who want this route.
Why are there very few International flights out of Los Angeles. Seems to me American/Lax is lacking flights that are needed in Lax.
DFW-TLV will probably never launch and does not need to. It's an expensive and long flight to operate and in an environment where business travel remains fairly muted. The JFK and MIA routes have proven to work. That's probably all AA needs to serve this market now. If it ever launches, it will be when AA has enough 787s to go around. Right now, it does not need to operate DFW-TLV.
The previous announced Doha flight from JFK by AA to starting in June makes sense for people who connect to other cities in the middle east and Asia.
This route is not happening.
honestly, AA serving Tel Aviv with two destinations is a great upgrade from serving none.
West Coast markets already have service to tel Aviv via Alaska Airlines & Jetblue agreement. Not to mention United provides excellent service to TLV
Thanks for the update Ben. Speaking of DFW to TLV, I can’t seem to find when Iberia starts flying to DFW (April 2022 was the last I could find).
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Andy Diamond
February 6, 2022, 2:44 pm
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Neville Newman Guest
July 3, 2022, 9:15 am
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1 more replyYes, agree. It seems that the IB flight to/from DFW has not been loaded. Not in April, not in June, not in September, not in November ... The AY (Finnair) flight, on the other hand, is loaded and seems to be operating.
Iberia began flying in/lout of DFW just one month ago. I flew Iberia from DFW to TLV via Madrid on 6/08. Their "systems" were not "compatible" with DFW's. Iberia blamed it on the airport (seriously). It was a mess but the personnel were working very hard to help solve problems.
Also, Spanish law required (requires?) every flight in or out of Spain to enforce mask-wearing for all passengers and crew for the entire time onboard...
Iberia began flying in/lout of DFW just one month ago. I flew Iberia from DFW to TLV via Madrid on 6/08. Their "systems" were not "compatible" with DFW's. Iberia blamed it on the airport (seriously). It was a mess but the personnel were working very hard to help solve problems.
Also, Spanish law required (requires?) every flight in or out of Spain to enforce mask-wearing for all passengers and crew for the entire time onboard the aircraft, in case that is a concern for you.
Blame it on the self upgraders.
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Donato Guest
February 6, 2022, 7:41 pm
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Eskimo Guest
February 7, 2022, 2:57 am
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1 more replyReally!
That incident is old news. odd they might choose to operate other flights but postpone implementation of this route if that is the reason.
Because from DFW you don't mess with Texas.
Delayed again - my DFW to TLV flight on April 30, was cancelled about a month ago, and my TLV to DFW return was cancelled today.
It is difficult to believe that there is a need for a DFW-TLV connection. AA can always route Western traffic thru MIA or, preferably JFK. The JFK-TLV connection will always be the most lucrative. Also, it would be advisable to schedule the 777-300 for this route if this equipment is available.
Good Luck AA.
the flight launch isn't delayed....its what we Jews refer to as "Jewish Time."
Look back over 2021. What percentage of international launch dates actually happened as reported? I would guess 20%. Not a knock on Ben. Just a reality check until the pandemic is over.
I was booked on LAX to DFW to TLV for April. Now going via JFK
Tel Aviv not an exciting city? I guess you've never been, or dont enjoy the multi experiences that many travellers do.
I don’t understand why service to Israel generates so much coverage. The market seems saturated, Tel Aviv not a particularly exciting city and this latest news of a two month postponement (after endless coverage of prior delays) is just overkill. YMMV.
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Max Guest
January 9, 2022, 12:02 pm
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shoeguy Guest
January 9, 2022, 2:58 pm
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philippharm Guest
January 9, 2022, 12:19 pm
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Neville Guest
April 29, 2022, 9:20 am
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Jordan Diamond
January 9, 2022, 5:36 pm
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Mark Guest
May 10, 2022, 2:45 am
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5 more repliesExactly, neighboring Jordan is 10-100x times better for tourists. And you don't have to endure Ultra-orthodox Jews with traditions that are, mildly put, not very compatible with modern western lifestyle.
The US-Israel market is huge. Capacity has been significantly reduced as LY went from 747-400s and 777-200s to 787-9s. UA literally prints money on EWR-TLV, as does DL on JFK-TLV. Plenty of cargo, premium demand.
Oh, I forgot. Jerusalem is only a 45 min. drive from Tel Aviv airport. If Tel Aviv isnt of interest, I doubt if many are disappointed by Jerusalem.
Even better, it is a 20 minute non-stop train ride direct from Platform 2 at the TLV Ben Gurion airport. It's hard enough to to manage cars and parking in Jerusalem already, so avoiding adding another car to the mix avoids making it worse.
Oh, I think we know EXACTLY why it gets so much coverage. Dare you not cover it with excitement to see the name you will be called...lol
With that said, Israel is an exciting city for some (if you have friends there for sure...amazing).
The food is great (same as many other places)
The people are lovely (same for other places)...in general, Jewish people are very warm and traditional. But other religions also...
Oh, I think we know EXACTLY why it gets so much coverage. Dare you not cover it with excitement to see the name you will be called...lol
With that said, Israel is an exciting city for some (if you have friends there for sure...amazing).
The food is great (same as many other places)
The people are lovely (same for other places)...in general, Jewish people are very warm and traditional. But other religions also reside there.
Interesting and unique architecture (same...) history etc.
The country of Jordan has a lot more to offer next door for Tourists.
I think the AA route to Delhi would truly be considered more "exciting"...and I think since AA fired up two other routes to TLV (which can feed everyone West via MIA and JFK for now), its no longer really interesting.
Airlines schedule flights to profitable destinations with lots of traffic through out the year, premium corporate business travelers and commercial cargo (like Tel Aviv). I’d like to think the perceived level of excitement of any destination can vary depending on each individual’s background, interests and pocket book. We found Tel Aviv and Jerusalem far more interesting (and exciting) than Amman. Tel Aviv specially offered plenty of interesting things to do around the clock. We didn’t...
Airlines schedule flights to profitable destinations with lots of traffic through out the year, premium corporate business travelers and commercial cargo (like Tel Aviv). I’d like to think the perceived level of excitement of any destination can vary depending on each individual’s background, interests and pocket book. We found Tel Aviv and Jerusalem far more interesting (and exciting) than Amman. Tel Aviv specially offered plenty of interesting things to do around the clock. We didn’t find much to report about Amman, there were only a few interesting and/or historical sights.
The answer is NO because the new route DFW TLV by American Airlines will be called off in May, 2022 due to budget cuts as with Seattle To Bangalore India also due to budget cuts as we know it.
adding a bunch of new routes during a pandemic is never a good idea. Announcing 3 to the same city makes even less sense. Trying to do it all to a country that keeps opening and closing its borders makes the least sense.
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KS Guest
January 9, 2022, 9:45 am
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Tim Dunn Diamond
January 9, 2022, 12:23 pm
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shoeguy Guest
January 9, 2022, 2:59 pm
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shoeguy Guest
January 9, 2022, 2:56 pm
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Tim Dunn Diamond
January 9, 2022, 4:29 pm
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4 more repliesLOL!!! Is launching two routes to the same city fine then? Like AUS-AMS & AUS-LHR?? Oh wait, those are Delta partners, so they can do anything, gotcha…
Delta’s Austin routes along with a number of United routes are expected to launch this summer.
Perhaps you could tell us how many routes that American has announced during the pandemic and have successfully launched on time. Pssst it’s actually well below average
Dude, grow up.
Oh right....launching new routes during a pandemic is a terrible idea. Explain DL launching BOS-TLV and BOS-ATH then?
see above. Those routes aren't scheduled to launch until summer.
If they miss the launch date, then you have a right to raise the same concern - as long as you include all of the new (not reinstated) routes from United.
btw, care to share what data you are using to state that the financial performance for AA's JFK to TLV route has been "very well?"
Wiht $2.40/gallon plus jet fuel and the...
see above. Those routes aren't scheduled to launch until summer.
If they miss the launch date, then you have a right to raise the same concern - as long as you include all of the new (not reinstated) routes from United.
btw, care to share what data you are using to state that the financial performance for AA's JFK to TLV route has been "very well?"
Wiht $2.40/gallon plus jet fuel and the use of 777s, nothing looks as good as it did last fall.
and then AA still can't get enough 787s delivered from Boeing to replace the A330s and B767s it retired....
The JFK-TLV flight has performed very well financially. It is not entirely surprising DFW-TLV has not launched and I wouldn't be surprised if it got pushed back again from the next stated launch date. DFW-TLV allows AA to capture more West Coast originating bookings, but it can also do that via JFK and the MIA services. I'd agree with you that DFW-TLV would most likely launch before SEA-BLR ever does, but I think AA will shelve DFW-TLV for the remainder of 2022.
I'm booked MIA-TLV-MIA on a PE award for April, fingers crossed...