American Adds Seven New Europe Routes In Summer Of 2025

American Adds Seven New Europe Routes In Summer Of 2025

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In recent years, summer demand for travel between the United States and Europe has been through the roof, so we’ve seen US airlines add as much capacity there as possible. Every year, we see airlines tweak their European route network a bit, based on both capacity and demand, and announce new services.

Along those lines, American has revealed the full details of its transatlantic expansion for the summer of 2025, so let’s take a look at all the details. Separately, we’ve seen Delta and United also announce new routes for next summer (with United’s routes being by far the most creative and least predictable).

American adds seven Europe routes in summer 2025

American Airlines will add seven new summer seasonal transatlantic routes in 2025:

  • As of March 30, 2025, American will fly daily from Chicago (ORD) to Madrid (MAD) using Boeing 787-8s
  • As of May 6, 2025, American will fly daily from Chicago (ORD) to Naples (NAP) using Boeing 787-8s
  • As of May 23, 2025, American will fly daily from Philadelphia (PHL) to Edinburgh (EDI) using Boeing 787-8s
  • As of May 23, 2025, American will fly daily from Philadelphia (PHL) to Milan (MXP) using Boeing 787-8s
  • As of June 5, 2025, American will fly daily from Charlotte (CLT) to Athens (ATH) using Boeing 777-200ERs
  • As of June 5, 2025, American will fly daily from Dallas (DFW) to Venice (VCE) using Boeing 787-8s
  • As of June 5, 2025, American will fly daily from Miami (MIA) to Rome (FCO) using Boeing 777-200ERs
American’s new routes for summer of 2025

All of these are additional routes to existing destinations, with the exception of the Edinburgh service, as American hasn’t flown there since 2019.

American is also bringing back the routes it added to Europe in the summer of 2024, including from Philadelphia (PHL) to Copenhagen (CPH), Naples (NAP), and Nice (NCE). However, American is cutting its Chicago (ORD) to Venice (VCE) route, as that’s being shifted to Dallas (DFW).

With this schedule, American claims it will serve Athens and Rome from more US airports than any other US airline, and also that it will offer more service to Spain than any other US airline.

Let’s go over the schedule of each of these seven new routes (all the flights have been loaded into the schedule and are bookable).

American’s Chicago to Madrid route

As of March 30, 2025, American will launch daily summer seasonal service from Chicago to Madrid. The flight will operate with the following schedule:

AA126 Chicago to Madrid departing 10:15PM arriving 1:20PM (+1 day)
AA125 Madrid to Chicago departing 4:35PM arriving 6:50PM

The 4,202-mile flight is blocked at 8hr5min eastbound and 9hr15min westbound. American will use a Boeing 787-8 for this route.

American’s Chicago to Naples route

As of May 6, 2025, American will launch daily summer seasonal service from Chicago to Naples. The flight will operate with the following schedule:

AA180 Chicago to Naples departing 8:15PM arriving 12:45PM (+1 day)
AA181 Naples to Chicago departing 2:45PM arriving 6:40PM

The 4,946-mile flight is blocked at 9hr30min eastbound and 10hr55min westbound. American will use a Boeing 787-8 for this route.

American’s Philadelphia to Edinburgh route

As of May 23, 2025, American will launch daily summer seasonal service from Philadelphia to Edinburgh. The flight will operate with the following schedule:

AA278 Philadelphia to Edinburgh departing 7:05PM arriving 7:00AM (+1 day)
AA279 Edinburgh to Philadelphia departing 11:35AM arriving 2:00PM

The 3,349-mile flight is blocked at 6hr55min eastbound and 7hr25min westbound. American will use a Boeing 787-8 for this route.

American’s Philadelphia to Milan route

As of May 23, 2025, American will launch daily summer seasonal service from Philadelphia to Milan. The flight will operate with the following schedule:

AA298 Philadelphia to Milan departing 9:15PM arriving 11:20AM (+1 day)
AA299 Milan to Philadelphia departing 1:35PM arriving 4:40PM

The 4,090-mile flight is blocked at 8hr5min eastbound and 9hr5min westbound. American will use a Boeing 787-8 for this route.

American’s Charlotte to Athens route

As of June 5, 2025, American will launch daily summer seasonal service from Charlotte to Athens. The flight will operate with the following schedule:

AA326 Charlotte to Athens departing 7:00PM arriving 12:20PM (+1 day)
AA325 Athens to Charlotte departing 12:00PM arriving 4:30PM

The 5,478-mile flight is blocked at 10hr20min eastbound and 11hr30min westbound. American will use a Boeing 777-200ER for this route.

American’s Dallas to Venice route

As of June 5, 2025, American will launch daily summer seasonal service from Dallas to Venice. The flight will operate with the following schedule:

AA130 Dallas to Venice departing 5:00PM arriving 10:35AM (+1 day)
AA131 Venice to Dallas departing 2:50PM arriving 6:40PM

The 5,466-mile flight is blocked at 10hr35min eastbound and 10hr50min westbound. American will use a Boeing 787-8 for this route.

American’s Miami to Rome route

As of June 5, 2025, American will launch daily summer seasonal service from Miami to Rome. The flight will operate with the following schedule:

AA52 Miami to Rome departing 7:35PM arriving 11:55AM (+1 day)
AA53 Rome to Miami departing 1:50PM arriving 7:25PM

The 5,168-mile flight is blocked at 10hr20min eastbound and 11hr35min westbound. American will use a Boeing 777-200ER for this route.

American is adding new routes next summer

American expands capacity in eight markets in summer 2025

In addition to adding new routes altogether, American is also expanding capacity in several international markets for the summer of 2025.

First of all, American is extending the season for four transatlantic routes in the summer of 2025:

  • American’s summer seasonal daily Dallas (DFW) to Barcelona (BCN) route will launch earlier than planned, as of March 30, 2025, using Boeing 777-200ERs
  • American’s summer seasonal daily Philadelphia (PHL) to Athens (ATH) route will launch earlier than planned, as of March 30, 2025, using Boeing 787-8s
  • American’s summer seasonal daily Philadelphia (PHL) to Naples (NAP) route will launch earlier than planned, as of May 5, 2025, using Boeing 787-8s
  • American’s winter seasonal daily Miami (MIA) to Paris (CDG) route will be extended into summer, using Boeing 787-8s

Next, American will be operating larger aircraft on four routes to Asia in the summer of 2025:

  • American’s daily Dallas (DFW) to Shanghai (PVG) flight will be upgraded from a Boeing 787-8 to a Boeing 787-9
  • American’s daily Dallas (DFW) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) flight will be upgraded from a Boeing 787-8 to a Boeing 787-9
  • American’s daily Dallas (DFW) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) flight will be upgraded from a Boeing 787-8 to a Boeing 787-9
  • American’s twice daily Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) flight will be upgraded from a Boeing 787-8 to a Boeing 787-9

These upgrades represent a significant increase in capacity, in particular in business class. While American’s 787-8s only have 20 business class seats, you’ll find 30 seats on the 787-9, and 37 seats on the 777-200ER.

Some routes are getting bigger planes with more premium seats

My take on American’s summer 2025 expansion

Unsurprisingly, American’s European expansion in the summer of 2025 is limited, given the carrier’s lack of aircraft. American is dealing with delivery delays for both the Boeing 787 and Airbus A321XLR, which are the two planes with which American is able to grow.

Compared to past years, this expansion isn’t much to get excited about. Here are a few thoughts on these routes:

  • Edinburgh is the only new destination, so it’s cool to see that added, as Scotland is a pretty awesome country, and that was a gap in American’s network
  • As a Miami resident, I’m happy to see American add two transatlantic routes from the airport in the summer of 2025, as American’s network in summer has historically been limited to Barcelona, London, and Madrid
  • If anything, I’m a bit surprised to see the Asia expansion with larger jets in the summer of 2024; you’d think that you’d rather fly a larger plane to Europe rather than Asia in summer, given how demand trends have evolved
  • Given how strong premium leisure demand is, I continue to think a major issue for American is how few premium seats it has; American’s 787-8s have 20 business class seats and 787-9s have 30 business class seats, while United’s 787-8s have 28 business class seats and 787-9s have 48 business class seats
American’s 787-8s don’t have enough premium seats

Bottom line

American has announced its expansion for the summer of 2025. Edinburgh is the only new destination for the carrier, while the airline will also add new routes to Athens, Madrid, Milan, Naples, Rome, and Venice, all of which are existing destinations.

American is also extending the seasons on some Europe routes, and is upgrading the capacity on some Asia routes. It’s not surprising to see growth focused so heavily on Greece, Spain, and Italy, given where people like to travel in summer nowadays…

What do you make of American’s expansion for next summer?

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  1. KK13 Diamond

    Why would I fly to Madrid by AA instead of Iberia, which is hundred times better?

    In fact, I never take any international trip by any US airlines - screw them!

    1. LAXLonghorn Guest

      I guess you haven’t flown Iberia.

      Such ignorance…

    2. Mogman Guest

      Just butting in on this AA - IBE thread.
      The main reason why many would choose IBE over AA for an international flight is simply the aircraft type.
      AA use Boeing while IBE fly Airbus on Trans Atlantic routes.

    3. KK13 Diamond

      Maybe you're the ignorant one, ever thought about it?

      I have flown Iberia business three times past 6 months - twice to NY, and once to MIA. Actually, make it 4, because I took their domestic F from Madrid to Paris as well. From boarding to food, comfort, ambiance - so much better than AA!

      - At least Iberia ranks in Top #20 business class, unlike AA, which is nowhere to be found.

      Maybe you're the ignorant one, ever thought about it?

      I have flown Iberia business three times past 6 months - twice to NY, and once to MIA. Actually, make it 4, because I took their domestic F from Madrid to Paris as well. From boarding to food, comfort, ambiance - so much better than AA!

      - At least Iberia ranks in Top #20 business class, unlike AA, which is nowhere to be found.
      - Iberia's MAD lounge is amazing, ranks Top #9 in the world. Go figure!
      - And I don't even want to mention about food and its quality - no US airlines will feature.

    4. Scudder Diamond

      Yup. I go between JFK and MAD at least every other month. IB is far superior in J, in pretty much every regard.

  2. ImportViking Gold

    Chicago to Naples may be genius!

    Now that the US is heavily focused on garbage and even some presidential candidates pretend to dress up like garbage collectors, they might have found out that Naples is having a waste management crisis and has had so for decades now. Bring out all your American garbage collectors, but keep your trailer trash at home!

    1. D3kingg Guest

      You have a problem with your own trash you take it to Meloni ok ? The Italian Trump.

  3. Jay Guest

    AA used to operate an EDI route from Phillie with the 752 prior to COVID. Hope to see more flights from the US to Scotland. The rest of the UK outside of London Heathrow needs some good nonstop transatlantic routes.

  4. Tim Dunn Diamond

    AA's further addition to its summer 2025 schedule is a fairly low-risk way to grow the oneworld JV's presence esp. to continental Europe where DL/AF/KL are the largest followed by UA which mirrors the 3 US airlines' sizes to Europe.

    AA hasn't been able to get DL and UA's average fares to continental Europe which is booming esp. in southern Europe while LHR - the bulk of AA and the oneworld JV is overcapacity.

    AA's...

    AA's further addition to its summer 2025 schedule is a fairly low-risk way to grow the oneworld JV's presence esp. to continental Europe where DL/AF/KL are the largest followed by UA which mirrors the 3 US airlines' sizes to Europe.

    AA hasn't been able to get DL and UA's average fares to continental Europe which is booming esp. in southern Europe while LHR - the bulk of AA and the oneworld JV is overcapacity.

    AA's heavy use of the 787-8 makes these additions low-risk even though the CASM for the 787-8 is higher than 767s due to higher ownership costs; DL and UA will likely use the 764 well into the 2030s.

    AA also appears to be realizing that its best success will come from not trying to add more capacity to NYC but rather from its inland hubs where it has a schedule advantage in those regions.
    Some of these routes as well as existing routes from PHL will likely become 321XLR routes in the future which should free up aircraft to fly even more from CLT and DFW to Europe.

    Add in that AA can swap 321XLRs and 787s between Europe and S. America based on season and they should be able to make their TATL network profitable again.

    1. Roberto Guest

      How much do clothes cost in the Matrix, Timmy?

    2. Tim Dunn Diamond

      More than British Airways’ food budget, but less than what United will have to pay in retro to its flight attendants when it decides to settle with them

    3. Roberto Guest

      I figured that movie reference would go over your head. I’m currently on UA flight 737 from SEA to SFO. I’d have to say this UA 738 has the best Boeing domestic f/c seat in the US. I’m sorry it doesn’t have a screen from 2003 like you’re use to.

    4. Tim Dunn Diamond

      I wasn't interested in movie clues.

      I was interested in making a point.

      Which I did.

      Speaking of 737s, you do realize that UA will likely get more aircraft from Airbus than Boeing in 2024?
      So much for those massive orders from Boeing that United placed.

    5. Kittie Scott Planes Guest

      “ esp. to continental Europe where DL/AF/KL are the largest”

      You’re so stupid, tim lol
      How can anyone be this dumb?

      It’s so obvious why you live your life in the comment section. Your knowledge is below that of a 5 year old as is your IQ

    6. Tim Dunn Diamond

      I clearly touched a nerve - so you lob childish personal attacks.

      DL is the largest airline to continental Europe AF/DL/KL IS the largest alliance.

      Sorry if those facts ruined your day but the truth doesn't change.

    7. Kittie Scott Planes Guest

      No. You're just an idiot. Defining JVs by continental Europe now? lol. You just come up with the dumbest ways to make stupid points

    8. Tim Dunn Diamond

      nobody is defining JVs by

    9. Tim Dunn Diamond

      nobody is defining JVs by geographic region but it is absolutely valid to determine what each airline gets out of its JVs.

      AF/DL/KL have created a continental Europe superpower and SK will only add to it.
      UA plus the LH group is strong but has some significant strategic shortcomings.
      AA/IAG is great for the UK and Ireland but is quite weak in continental Europe. It is no surprise that AA is committing so...

      nobody is defining JVs by geographic region but it is absolutely valid to determine what each airline gets out of its JVs.

      AF/DL/KL have created a continental Europe superpower and SK will only add to it.
      UA plus the LH group is strong but has some significant strategic shortcomings.
      AA/IAG is great for the UK and Ireland but is quite weak in continental Europe. It is no surprise that AA is committing so many resources to try to catch up w/ DL and UA to a lesser extent in Italy

    10. A220HubandSpoke Diamond

      New planes are not more expensive than older planes.

      Let be very clear about that.

      It literally makes zero sense and I question the IQ of those who push this.

    11. Tim Dunn Diamond

      It comes right from government data. You and others regularly prove that you ignore and discredit facts you don’t like.

      The 787-8 has very high ownership costs compared to the 767 and comparable or higher crew costs. The maintenance and higher fuel expenses on the 767 don’t offset the higher ownership costs of the 788

      There is a reason why the 788 sells very little compared to other models. AA has never managed its...

      It comes right from government data. You and others regularly prove that you ignore and discredit facts you don’t like.

      The 787-8 has very high ownership costs compared to the 767 and comparable or higher crew costs. The maintenance and higher fuel expenses on the 767 don’t offset the higher ownership costs of the 788

      There is a reason why the 788 sells very little compared to other models. AA has never managed its fleet well, got rid of the 767 because it didn’t maintain them for long life, they were unreliable, and they bought the 788 as a replacement.

      AA is picking the right routes but it still has a fleet cost handicap compared to DL and UA

    12. A220HubandSpoke Diamond

      Why would nearly all airlines, yes even Delta:), but newer and more expensive planes, rather than older and cheaper planes?

      That makes no sense, at all.

      Hence why I don't take opinions posing as "facts" very seriously.

      You can hate Delta all you want, but those Max 10s are way cheaper than the 737-800s they'll replace.

    13. Tim Dunn Diamond

      You don’t get it.
      The discussion is specifically about the 787-8. Same reason why the A330-800 sells poorly.
      And the A318.

      The 787 is a great plane but the -8 became economically obsolete when the -9 entered service

  5. Franklin Guest

    yawn. Could they have picked anything less interesting if they'd tried?

  6. Bob Guest

    So basically avoid those cities, as they now come with extra Americans next summer....

  7. TM Guest

    No one has pointed it out that all these new AA routes are DAILY service. Meaning you have much more flexibility if plans change, and you can plan around your schedule not the airlines. Nearly all of Delta's new routes are 3 days a week. That is not customer friendly.

    1. Tim Dunn Diamond

      nearly all of these routes as well as everything that DL and UA announced will be driven more by connections than local markets. Most of the new AA and DL routes are additions to existing service so which hub a connecting passenger goes through is relatively immaterial.

      It is actually UA's narrowbody, less than daily routes to unique cities that have the greatest risk from a schedule standpoint.

  8. RF Diamond

    AA125 used to be the DFW-HKG route. I guess that's not coming back soon.

    1. quorumcall Diamond

      CX, who partners with AA, is launching DFW-HKG

  9. brandote Member

    Ah yes, just what Venice wants, a bunch of loud overweight flyover state Americans schlepping in from Dallas.

    1. Jaosn Guest

      vast majority of people on Dallas-Europe flights are people connecting from California.

  10. Alex Guest

    Odd that they add Miami to Rome, in competition with ITA Airways, and they ignore Miami to Milan, that they canceled with Covid and never resumed.
    In my memory that flight was always full, even though they were flying the old 767

    1. KK13 Diamond

      I’m a Pt Exec, but I’d rather fly by ITA than in AA

    2. Enrico Guest

      Always full, Alex, daily all year round.
      Sometimes 767 but mostly 777-200.

  11. Rishi Member

    Edinburgh is not a new destination. AA flew there from PHL in 2019 with 757s and then in 2021 with 787-8s. It was cut due to widebody shortages.
    As someone who lives in PHL its great to see the airline adding more destinations since the airline has so much potential here, but the hub is still a shell of what it was pre-pandemic.

    1. Kr Guest

      Correction: 2021 AA announced that they would fly EDI AND SNN on 788 3X a week, but that later got axed before it launched, so it never actually flew.

      Yes AA and US have flown EDI (&GLA) out of multiple hubs, including PHL AND JFK, AND ORD in the past, all in 2019 and prior.

      So it is not a new route, more like resuming. New route compared to all the traditional existing routes that have just been returned year after year and just expanded capacity-wise.

    2. Kr Guest

      2019-2025: 5 summer seasons absense for AA in EDI

  12. JW Guest

    Any chance the larger machine to Japan ties into the World Expo in Osaka. Should be a fair amount of business class interest and then connecting onward to Osaka.

    1. ImmortalSynn Guest

      Charters are one thing, but no airline plans an entire season's worth of network/equipment usage, based on a convention or sporting event.

  13. Bruce Guest

    It seems from the schedule that American will swap aircraft in Athens with the JFK flight. So a 777 will operate JFK-ATH-CLT and a different 777 will operate CLT-ATH-JFK.

  14. Tim Dunn Diamond

    The 787-8 is better suited for adding routes that could become 321XLRs (or as part of an aircraft shuffle on other routes) while the 787-8 is too expensive per seat to operate on transpacific routes that are over 12 hours long and require 4 pilots. the 787-9 adds more seats and Asia is recovering.

    It is also notable that AA is shifting its transatlantic adds to the eastern US rather than building up DFW...

    The 787-8 is better suited for adding routes that could become 321XLRs (or as part of an aircraft shuffle on other routes) while the 787-8 is too expensive per seat to operate on transpacific routes that are over 12 hours long and require 4 pilots. the 787-9 adds more seats and Asia is recovering.

    It is also notable that AA is shifting its transatlantic adds to the eastern US rather than building up DFW as it has done. PHL is the last best hope for AA to have a major presence in the NE to Europe and the XLR will have to be a part of that future while you need only look a couple hundreds down I 85 from CLT to see what DL manages to fly from ATL to Europe (and S. America, Africa and Asia as well). Assuming it can build the international arrivals capacity, AA at CLT should be capable of supporting more flights to Europe.

    1. UncleRonnie Diamond

      PHL is a destination that no-one from Europe wants to fly to/visit. It's a dump. Americans might be used to hub airport model, but most Europeans want to fly direct to the city they actually want to spend time in e.g. NY, Miami, Boston, Washington, LA, Denver, etc.

      Bouncing around hubs is a pain in the butt for Europeans. AA might have slots and TATL routes out of PHL, but you're probably going to...

      PHL is a destination that no-one from Europe wants to fly to/visit. It's a dump. Americans might be used to hub airport model, but most Europeans want to fly direct to the city they actually want to spend time in e.g. NY, Miami, Boston, Washington, LA, Denver, etc.

      Bouncing around hubs is a pain in the butt for Europeans. AA might have slots and TATL routes out of PHL, but you're probably going to see the ratio of Europeans vs Americans 10/90 of your passengers instead of around 50/50 ratio at other routes above. And that doesn't seem like a model for success in my mind.

    2. Icarus Guest

      And you speak for the 450 million people in Europe.

    3. UncleRonnie Diamond

      Nah, just the 90% who don't want to fly via PHL. Your 10% can hub through there with you all year long.

    4. yoloswag420 Guest

      PHL is made for connections on the US side, not for Europeans. It's pretty obvious that even w/ JVs the local carriers are still dominant.

      UA flies mostly Americans, ANA flies mostly Asians. This is true w/ the European carriers. Delta/AA fly mostly US pax, VS/AF/KLM/BA fly mostly European ones.

      It's part of why Delta flopped with their LAX/LHR route w/ 50% LFs, but VS can maintain well into the 80%, despite being "metal neutral"

    5. Julia Guest

      To be fair, Philadelphia isn't usually the first or even third choice for most foreigners who want to visit the US, unless they have family there. Not saying they don't want to visit it at all, just that places like DC, NY, Miami, LA, Boston, etc, are more popular choices.

    6. Santos Guest

      If PHL is a dump, what's FRA?

    7. ImmortalSynn Guest

      I love how you're tossing around blanket statements with zero numerical corroboration.

    8. Eric Guest

      Many Europeans will fly to any city with the lowest fare. Regardless of what city in the states they are connecting. Point blank period.

    9. LAXLonghorn Guest

      @Tim Dunn

      ...or anyone else that has the knowledge or time to look this up....

      Do JV's include cargo?

      Also, understand the comments/skepticism about the XLR's cargo capability, but the Airbus website plays it up; up to 10 containers "unique" containers or pallets. With XLR pax configuration likely skewing towards premium / less dense pax loads, therefore there is some cargo space to work with (?). The dedicated cargo variant does indeed have much less...

      @Tim Dunn

      ...or anyone else that has the knowledge or time to look this up....

      Do JV's include cargo?

      Also, understand the comments/skepticism about the XLR's cargo capability, but the Airbus website plays it up; up to 10 containers "unique" containers or pallets. With XLR pax configuration likely skewing towards premium / less dense pax loads, therefore there is some cargo space to work with (?). The dedicated cargo variant does indeed have much less range than the pax version (as with all pax to cargo conversions), but that's solely based on main floor cargo loads, so it really shouldn't affect performance of pax configured operations and networks.

      Still very limited compared to widebodies, but that's also why I asked the question about the JV's in terms of how cargo can be routed via JV alliances.

      Thoughts? Info?

    10. Tim Dunn Diamond

      it depends on the JV but cargo and passengers are not "standard" items in US carrier JVs.

      Airbus will tell you the cargo capacity but doesn't tell you how much of that will involve passenger baggage.

      The XLR still will have little cargo capacity with full pax and bags even with 150 passengers (which is about what AA and UA will put on their premium configured XLRS - and DL will put on its transcon...

      it depends on the JV but cargo and passengers are not "standard" items in US carrier JVs.

      Airbus will tell you the cargo capacity but doesn't tell you how much of that will involve passenger baggage.

      The XLR still will have little cargo capacity with full pax and bags even with 150 passengers (which is about what AA and UA will put on their premium configured XLRS - and DL will put on its transcon premium configured NEOs which are not XLRs).

      The XLR can carry documents and relatively light high value cargo but not much more than that.

  15. iamhere Guest

    I assume then connecting airports will become more crowded. I guess most passengers will be transiting there.

  16. Arthur V. Guest

    Left unsaid and probably deliberately due to uncertainty of delivery, is where the new premium heavy 787/9s will fly. Hence, it's probable that some heavy premium routes like to Tokyo where currently advertised only as a /9 aircraft could end up being switched to the new /9s. The net increase in seats over the current /8s is only 10 seats *244 vs 234, but massively switched to premium seats.

  17. Fred Farkle Guest

    AA will first deploy its new XLRs on NY to Europe routes, as opposed to transcon routes. On the surface, using XLRs for secondary European destinations seems smart. The problem is that XLRs don't have the capacity for cargo, the revenue from which makes or breaks the economic viability of a route. In a few years, we'll see whether AA maintains XLRs on TATL routes. I have my doubts.

    1. Arthur V. Guest

      Left unsaid and probably deliberately due to uncertainty of delivery, is where the new premium heavy 787/9s will fly. Hence, it's probable that some heavy premium routes like to Tokyo where currently advertised only as a /9 aircraft could end up being switched to the new /9s. The net increase in seats over the current /8s is only 10 seats *244 vs 234, but massively switched to premium seats. Regarding the XLRs I doubt very...

      Left unsaid and probably deliberately due to uncertainty of delivery, is where the new premium heavy 787/9s will fly. Hence, it's probable that some heavy premium routes like to Tokyo where currently advertised only as a /9 aircraft could end up being switched to the new /9s. The net increase in seats over the current /8s is only 10 seats *244 vs 234, but massively switched to premium seats. Regarding the XLRs I doubt very much that they will deploy them to Europe before 2026. They have an imperative need to reposition their Transcon offering and with only some 14 XLRs due to arrive thru the end of 2024 that will be absorbed completely on Trancon.

    2. ImmortalSynn Guest

      "the revenue from which makes or breaks the economic viability of a route."

      That's an aviation-geek trope that just refuses to die. While there are some rare exceptions (Lima for example), very few longhaul routes are made or broken by cargo. It's a nice plus to have, one which can be immediately invalidated any given day by a change in weather, strong winds, or a closed diversion alternate.

      You cannot plan longhaul routes around cargo,...

      "the revenue from which makes or breaks the economic viability of a route."

      That's an aviation-geek trope that just refuses to die. While there are some rare exceptions (Lima for example), very few longhaul routes are made or broken by cargo. It's a nice plus to have, one which can be immediately invalidated any given day by a change in weather, strong winds, or a closed diversion alternate.

      You cannot plan longhaul routes around cargo, in general. That simply does not work.

  18. Mark Guest

    I had no idea AA is currently flying so many 787-8s to PVG and especially to HND/NRT. Not only do they have a small number of destinations but many of the routes are operated with the smallest international plane.

    So surprising, given the JV with JL.

    1. Fred Farkle Guest

      AA gave up on the Asia-Pacific market a few years ago. It abandoned its West Coast bases of operations as major hubs. They have certain must-have routes but that's it. The strategies developed by Vasu Raja and Brian Znotins have led to this and more at AA. Interestingly, in a recent interview, Mr. Raja acknowledged that his strategies were wrong.

  19. Tim Dumb Guest

    Where is Timmy's analysis about how DL makes more money than AA across the Atlantic!

  20. Simon Guest

    American has historically operated Miami-Paris year-round since it launched in 1992. The only summers it did not operate were 2020, 2023 and 2024. This just brings it back to normal.

  21. Jason Guest

    Sounds like AA already gave up on Asia.

    1. quorumcall Diamond

      Such a disappointment. I remember back when DFW-HKG was a thing

    2. KK13 Diamond

      May be for the best!
      I would never fly with AA or any American airlines to anywhere outside the US; I never do, actually.

    3. Fred Farkle Guest

      AA gave up on Asia years ago. The decision was actually made pre-COVID and it took a couple years to unwind/close its pilot base at LAX.

  22. Douglas Guest

    Finally a route to EDI and I don’t have to change plane in LHR and I don’t have to go to NJ or NY and can stay in PA. Thank you AA. EDI is such a walkable city and they speak English with a different accent. Love the bagpipes also.

    1. Evan Guest

      I've always wanted to go to EDI for the architecture and walkability, but I'm usually a foodie tourist and stick to places like Paris, Barcelona, etc. I probably have outdated views on Scottish food being crappy. Is it a good food city now?

    2. Pete Guest

      There are a lot of good or great restaurants in Edinburgh. Kora and Borough, for instance, are both great. The food scene will never rival London or Lyon, but it's not too shabby.

    3. TravelCat2 Diamond

      I've had better meals in Edinburgh than Barcelona (not that I'm complaining about Barcelona).

  23. Evan Guest

    In terms of seats, AA may be correct that it offers "more service to Spain than any other US airline," but UA wins on diversity of routes. UA has the only nonstops to Malaga and Palma in addition to the bigger cities. I can only hope AA's service to secondary cities improves when they start getting XLRs.

    1. AC Guest

      Yeah - cause soooo much service is what - a daily flight from DFW, CLT, MIA, DFW, PHL and now ORD - OK, plus IB codeshares to ORD and BOS and LAX and DFW?

    2. Evan Guest

      Right - they might as well brag about having "more ways to reach Madrid and Barcelona" than any other airline.

      That's great and all, but I prefer UA's approach of having more nonstops into more cities, both in Spain and across secondary cities in Europe. Because the last thing I want after a long redeye is a layover to get on a regional jet to SVQ, PMI, AGP, etc.

    3. Linda Guest

      Great, and comfortable, high speed train service in Madrid to most all other cities in mainland Spain and easy to get, by train, to the train stations from the airport, so no need to take regional flights. Renife now has high speed competition that also has a combination ticket so no need to buy a separate train ticket to get to the train station you need from and to the airport. I do love the...

      Great, and comfortable, high speed train service in Madrid to most all other cities in mainland Spain and easy to get, by train, to the train stations from the airport, so no need to take regional flights. Renife now has high speed competition that also has a combination ticket so no need to buy a separate train ticket to get to the train station you need from and to the airport. I do love the train service in Europe and especially in Spain. I'm not much of a fan of Barcelona these days -- way too many tourists clogging the city center.

      PHL is not a bad airport these days. Philadelphia is not a bad city to visit either. In my humble opinion, it is nicer than either LA or Miami. Lots of history and good train service to DC, NYC, and Boston. The airport will be much better when the big Admiral's Club in Terminal A reopens.

      Had to fly CLT to MAD a couple of weeks ago. There is no decent lounge there. Lines to get into the Admiral's Club with no guarantee of a seat, the terminals are ridiculously crowded, and there is no decent place to eat. At least getting through customs and security was quick.

    4. BradStPete Diamond

      LOL, lived in Center City Philadelphia for 4 miserable, horrible years. Great place to visit....once. Oh gosh ! THAT was bitter !

    5. jacobin777 Member

      We took the train last winter from Madrid to Malaga and back to Madrid. Definitely recommend taking the train. It was fun, quick and inexpensive. Same in Italy, we took the train from Milan to Rome, up to Florence, etc. We also took the train from London to Manchester and back.

      It seems trains in Europe are very accessible and convenient.

  24. Julia Guest

    Even with the addition of flights to Madrid from Chicago, AA will still be lagging UA quite a bit with regards to flights to Europe and Asia from ORD.

    1. AC Guest

      AA and, ergo, OW are a complete joke from ORD vs *A. It's cute that AA will have a flight to MAD. So now, hub to hub, the OW options from ORD will be to LHR, HEL, and still MAD (ok - DUB, if we want to include that). Compared to *A and BRU, ZUR, VIE, LIS, FRA, MUC, WAW. Sure, losing SAS hurt but, as a Chicago guy, I hate that going almost anywhere in Europe involves a connection in LHR if I fly OW. *A is just the obvious winner and ITA will bring yet another option.

  25. Joe Guest

    Such a shame to see American behind on route network. Just can't help myself. Don't really want to but forced to fly United all the time to get to Asia and Europe these days. Would love to return

  26. S00 Guest

    For TPAC flights business class capacity is 19 seats for 788 and 29 seats for 789 due to 1 seat has been blocked for pilots.

    1. Leigh Guest

      Curious...the 787 doesn't have the overhead crew rest for flight deck upfront? Do they have the overhead crew rest for the FAs in back?

    2. Michael Member

      The 787 Overhead Crew Ready facility has two beds and one chair, whereas the 77W has two beds and two chairs. Since there's only one seat upstairs on the 787, they have to provide a second seat in the cabin if there are four pilots, since there are two on break at the same time who might both want to sit in a chair.

      On a flight with three pilots, however, there's only one pilot on break at a time, so the single seat in the bunk is adequate.

  27. Blake-Pickering Member

    Incredibly glad to see that EDI is finally showing up!

    1. Crew Guest

      American had Edinburgh at JFK pre-Covid.
      But with the ‘wonderful ‘merger, they took the flight away from JFK and brought it to Philly ( really?)

  28. ORCHARD Guest

    Glad to see ORD-MAD finally coming on board. I hope it goes year around.

    1. AC Guest

      IB already flies this year-round. I can't imagine there's enough demand for 2 daily flights in winter. While Iberia's flight crews aren't always the most pleasant, I'll chose an IB A330 or A340 anyday over a cramped AA 787. Oh yeah - not to mention that IB has delicious DO&CO food catered from MAD.

  29. Connor Guest

    The World's Most Boring Airline strikes again

  30. DT Guest

    Please bring ZRH-JFK back...

    1. brandote Member

      Why would AA want to focus on two extremely important high yield global business centers when their strategy is clearly to focus on overweight American leisure travelers wanting to take Mediterranean cruises?

    2. DT Guest

      Fair enough, do CLT-GOA then...

    3. Barbarella Guest

      I think they hoped to serve Switzerland through JetBlue who was apparently recruiting in GVA. But that's going nowhere now.
      When they get their XLRs they might reconsider. They're the only ones of th US big3 not serving CH from New York and the only ones not serving GVA.

  31. ImmortalSynn Guest

    AA adding longhaul to ORD, surprising, but nice.

  32. Matt Guest

    They really need to upgrade HND flights, especially since LAX-HND routes are consistently sold out.

  33. Willem Guest

    Scotland’s not a country, much as it appears to wish it was

    1. MaxPower Guest

      It is a country alongside England, Northern Ireland, and Wales... all part of the United Kingdom

      https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotland-eu/pages/7/

      "Scotland is a country within the multinational state of the United Kingdom. Following centuries as an independent nation, in 1707 the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of political union with England. "

      The Dutch also appear to Chime in on the topic: https://www.government.nl/topics/brexit/question-and-answer/which-countries-make-up-the-united-kingdom
      Or the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18023389

      And the Guardian has a few quotes on the topic,...

      It is a country alongside England, Northern Ireland, and Wales... all part of the United Kingdom

      https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotland-eu/pages/7/

      "Scotland is a country within the multinational state of the United Kingdom. Following centuries as an independent nation, in 1707 the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of political union with England. "

      The Dutch also appear to Chime in on the topic: https://www.government.nl/topics/brexit/question-and-answer/which-countries-make-up-the-united-kingdom
      Or the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18023389

      And the Guardian has a few quotes on the topic, pro and anti "country": https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-84806,00.html

    2. ImmortalSynn Guest

      Someone flunked geography/history.

      Scotland is country within a multinational state, and has been since 1707.

    3. omoo Guest

      As the former president said “I love the uneducated”

    4. brandote Member

      lol. It absolutely is a country.

    5. James Guest

      It's not a country in the modern sense of the word - a country would have its own currency, say, a UN seat, a military etc. In the modern sense the UK is in the country which Scotland is part of. The powers that Scotland has have been devolved to it from the UK. But historically and culturally it's a country and in British parlance it is too, or a "nation". It also has some...

      It's not a country in the modern sense of the word - a country would have its own currency, say, a UN seat, a military etc. In the modern sense the UK is in the country which Scotland is part of. The powers that Scotland has have been devolved to it from the UK. But historically and culturally it's a country and in British parlance it is too, or a "nation". It also has some of the trappings of a country such as an international football team. So it can be called a country but it's not the same as the US or France or Indonesia say.

    6. bill Guest

      By that logic, none of the members of the EU are countries, either.

    7. Fred Farkle Guest

      Using your words, a country would have its own currency. You mean like France?

  34. Terence Guest

    On a side note, HND will see 789s from all hubs, which helps the rotation I guess. Today, the 772s from JFK go straight back to JFK, while the 788s rotate between 2x LAX and 1x DFW departures.

  35. Jason Guest

    You write: while United’s 787-9s have 28 business class seats and 787-9s have 48 business class seats

    I think you mean United's 787-8s have 28 business class seats.

    I find it kind of weird that MIA-FCO starts in July... that seems late for a summer seasonal route.

    1. 305 Guest

      Something tells me the MIA-FCO might be more inverse-seasonal like the CDG route was. Lots of Italians vacation to Miami/board cruises from here. The July start date seems to time well with the busy vacation time of ferragosto the following month.

  36. Brad Guest

    arghh, nothing new out of LAX

  37. Mark P. Guest

    Interesting nothing added at JFK.

    1. JoeSchmo Guest

      once again, nothing for the NYC-based flier.

      given my lack of upgrades (same experience Ben describes in his other article) and not many exciting international routes out of NYC will lead me to abandon AA status.

      WFBF

    2. Crew Guest

      It’s like AA wants to decimate any flying at JFK. And it’s terrible terminal is a prime example of its lack of interest with New York.
      Delta is definitely the way to go. Routes, terminal, customer service. Top-notch around.
      AA definitely cares more about the leisure traveler, and that is such a shame!

    3. quorumcall Diamond

      Delta's Terminal 4 is absolutely horrendous as well. Old, tight, not designed for being a hub...

  38. A220HubandSpoke Diamond

    I honestly thought PHL-MXP would be a year round A321XLR add, as it would greatly complement JFK-MXP and maybe even future MIA-MXP.

    I still see it going year round with a narrowbody, with Milan being a business hub and all.

    1. Plane Jane Guest

      The timing of the route is actually perfectly set up to be the first winter XLR route. Summer 25: Fly with the 788 then be the first XLR route in the winter

  39. Enrico Guest

    AA cancelled IT MIA/MXP service during the pandemic and never brought It back. That daily flight used to be always packed. There's still no carrier offering direct service from MXP to MIA, while ITA does have a daily flight between FCO and MIA. American picking FCO over MXP, where they'd have no competition, is beyond me.

    1. Jeremy Guest

      It makes a ton of sense if you look at the demand statistics (shared by LAXDude123 on Airliners.net). Miami - FCO (Rome) has demand for 235 passengers daily each way while Miami - MXP (Milan) is 85 (30 more if you add Linate). This route should do very well for AA.

      Add in the connecting and additional demand you would get for Southern Italy to Rome, and even with the competition it's a bigger market...

      It makes a ton of sense if you look at the demand statistics (shared by LAXDude123 on Airliners.net). Miami - FCO (Rome) has demand for 235 passengers daily each way while Miami - MXP (Milan) is 85 (30 more if you add Linate). This route should do very well for AA.

      Add in the connecting and additional demand you would get for Southern Italy to Rome, and even with the competition it's a bigger market than MIA-MXP. The latter seems like a perfect opportunity for the A321XLR perhaps next year.

    2. Enrico Guest

      Yes, the A321XLR could work just fine on a potential MIA-MXP route

    3. Simon Guest

      That’s demand without non-stop. Florida stimulates, at minimum, 100%. And indeed in 2029, MIAMXP was at 260 PDEW.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Connor Guest

The World's Most Boring Airline strikes again

5
brandote Member

Why would AA want to focus on two extremely important high yield global business centers when their strategy is clearly to focus on overweight American leisure travelers wanting to take Mediterranean cruises?

4
Linda Guest

Great, and comfortable, high speed train service in Madrid to most all other cities in mainland Spain and easy to get, by train, to the train stations from the airport, so no need to take regional flights. Renife now has high speed competition that also has a combination ticket so no need to buy a separate train ticket to get to the train station you need from and to the airport. I do love the train service in Europe and especially in Spain. I'm not much of a fan of Barcelona these days -- way too many tourists clogging the city center. PHL is not a bad airport these days. Philadelphia is not a bad city to visit either. In my humble opinion, it is nicer than either LA or Miami. Lots of history and good train service to DC, NYC, and Boston. The airport will be much better when the big Admiral's Club in Terminal A reopens. Had to fly CLT to MAD a couple of weeks ago. There is no decent lounge there. Lines to get into the Admiral's Club with no guarantee of a seat, the terminals are ridiculously crowded, and there is no decent place to eat. At least getting through customs and security was quick.

2
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