American Airlines’ Jaw-Dropping Miami 777 Schedule

American Airlines’ Jaw-Dropping Miami 777 Schedule

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Every time I think that American Airlines couldn’t possibly add more 777s on domestic routes out of Miami… American adds more 777s on domestic routes out of Miami. With this weekend’s schedule update, it sure is nice to be an American Airlines flyer in Miami.

American’s 6x daily 777s between Miami & Los Angeles

Between June 3 and August 16, 2021, American Airlines will fly 6x daily Boeing 777s between Miami (MIA) and Los Angeles (LAX):

  • The airline will fly five 777-300ERs daily, featuring 304 seats
  • The airline will fly one 777-200ER daily, featuring 273 seats

For what it’s worth, American has already scheduled 6x daily 777s between Miami and Los Angeles between May 6 and June 2, though that only includes two daily 777-300ERs, rather than five. So the summer schedule represents even more of a capacity increase over the spring schedule.

American will fly 777s 6x daily between MIA & LAX

What are the practical implications of all of this 777 service?

  • All business & first class passengers will get fully flat beds
  • 777s have premium economy, but American isn’t selling those seats as a distinct cabin; so if you book a Main Cabin Extra seat (which some elite members are entitled to for free) you can select a premium economy seat at no extra cost
  • The five daily 777-300ERs even feature a four-cabin first class product, which is available for sale

Five daily flights will feature a first class cabin

American’s 7x daily 777s between Miami & New York

It’s not just transcon routes that are getting love. Between June 3 and August 16, 2021, American Airlines will fly 7x daily Boeing 777s between Miami (MIA) and New York (JFK):

  • The airline will fly four 777-200ERs daily, featuring 273 seats
  • The airline will fly three 777-300ERs daily, featuring 304 seats

American’s 777-300ER business class cabin

While American has historically occasionally operated 777s between Miami and New York, we’ve never seen the airline operate the 777 so consistently on the route. In particular, I don’t ever recall seeing the 777-300ER regularly scheduled in this market.

This update comes after New York has lifted its quarantine requirement for travelers, making it easier for New Yorkers to visit Florida (not that they haven’t been doing so already), and also making it easier for Floridians to visit New York.

All the same general principles apply as on the Miami to Los Angeles route, with one difference — between Miami and New York, American isn’t selling first class on the 777-300ERs. In other words, if you book business class on the route then you can reserve a first class seat at no extra cost.

Select a 777-300ER first class seat when booking business class

Other fun wide body routes out of Miami

While Los Angeles and New York are the only domestic destinations to get that many wide bodies out of Miami, there are some other notable Miami routes to get either 777s or 787s over the summer months:

  • Between Miami and Dallas, American will fly wide bodies 5x daily — 3x daily 777-300ERs, 1x daily 777-200ER, 1x daily 787-8
  • Between Miami and Boston, American will fly 2x daily 777-200ERs
  • Between Miami and Las Vegas, American will fly 1x daily 787-8
  • Between Miami and Chicago, American will fly 1x daily 787-8

American is also flying 787s domestically from Miami

How does this domestic 777 flying make sense?

American Airlines is selling really cheap fares in these markets (these are the lowest fares, and of course many people are paying more to fly):

  • Between Miami and Los Angeles we’re seeing economy fares of under $100, and business class fares of under $550
  • Between Miami and New York we’re seeing economy fares of under $80, and business class fares of under $250

Is there any world in which the math for these flights checks out? Yes, it does… right now might be the only time in history where this makes sense:

  • American Airlines is ungrounding all of its planes as of May 2021
  • While domestic demand has largely recovered, international demand hasn’t, so American has an excess of wide body aircraft
  • Airlines have payroll support through September 30, 2021, so for all practical purposes, staffing these flights is costing them virtually nothing
  • Not only that, but American needs to keep 777 pilots active and working, or else the airline will have a bigger issue of having to retrain pilots, given that these are also largely the more senior pilots
  • With this strategy, once demand for international travel returns, American will have its 777 fleet (including pilots) ready to go, which is important
  • Scheduling these planes on domestic routes gives American lots of flexibility; if travel restrictions are suddenly lifted, American could easily redeploy these planes on more lucrative international routes

Under ordinary circumstances there’s no way these flights would have made money. However, when you consider the lack of other places to fly these planes, and that the primary operating costs here are fuel, these flights probably do make sense, especially with oil prices being fairly low right now.

In other words, route planning for wide body aircraft right now isn’t really about finding the most profitable markets (because those largely don’t exist), but rather it’s about finding the least unprofitable way to utilize the planes, so that the planes are ready to go for better days ahead.

All American wide bodies have premium economy

Bottom line

American Airlines will be flying 777s unlike ever before this summer out of Miami, including all flights to Los Angeles and New York being operated by 777s. Perhaps most interesting is that American will offer 11x daily domestic 777-300ER frequencies out of Miami, which is unheard of.

Like I said, it’s a fantastic time to be an American flyer out of Miami, both in terms of the comfort of these planes, and in terms of upgrade odds.

What do you make of American’s 777 schedule out of Miami?

Conversations (36)
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  1. PhilFliesFirst Guest

    Amazing rates. I booked a RT LAX - MIA flight the week before the US Thanksgiving holiday (11/18) for only $917! Seated in Row 3, so proper First Class. So much to consider with respect to pilot training, crew certifications as well I imagine and the cost of fuel, food, beverages, I don’t see how they are eeking out any sort profit. Good luck! Thank you for the insight.

  2. Jacob Uriel Guest

    Your information really messed me up. They are not selling business class on this plane. They are selling first. What they did is they merged first and business class together. So, some people get real first seats and others get business class seats branded as first. It is not correct that "if you buy business" you can get yourself into first class. There is no first class. I booked a first class ticket and assumed I'd get a real first class seat.

  3. Javier Rivera Guest

    I think the article refers to domestic travel. He is missing MIA- PHL/CLT/SJU on that list. They all receive daily wide body service. If we go international, we’ll there are many more destinations outside of Colombia that are receiving widebodies.

  4. Scott A. Thorson New Member

    Thanks, Lucky! Booked 77W LAX-MIA PE $94. 788 MIA-ORD F 207.00 Amazing! Premium class seats seem to be filling quickly and a check of current wide body seat maps in and out of MIA show very solid load factors many at 100%. It's a great time to a socially conscious fully vaccinated Avgeek! Best regards, Scott

  5. Juan M Member

    So you know, Ben, AA put 787s in MIA-MDE/CLO and 777s in MIA-BOG as well.

  6. Jack Guest

    "it sure is nice to be an American Airlines flyer in Miami."

    Except for all the ways it's not.

  7. AW Guest

    I'm fully vaccinated and, by now, you should be too (or pretty close). There's no reason to stay home any more.

  8. orlijr Member

    Lucky,

    AA is selling F/C on the 773 as Flagship. You can not book a F/C seat when holding J. Hmmmmm.

  9. Tim Dunn Diamond

    For the month of May (when schedules are pretty certain), American has reduced the number of flights for LaGuardia to Miami while increasing them at JFK and Newark and adding more widebodies on JFK. Pre-covid, Delta flew more flights LGA to MIA but has equal number of flights from LGA and JFK while United has reduced the number of flights from EWR to MIA. JetBlue has entered the Newark and JFK to Miami markets while...

    For the month of May (when schedules are pretty certain), American has reduced the number of flights for LaGuardia to Miami while increasing them at JFK and Newark and adding more widebodies on JFK. Pre-covid, Delta flew more flights LGA to MIA but has equal number of flights from LGA and JFK while United has reduced the number of flights from EWR to MIA. JetBlue has entered the Newark and JFK to Miami markets while Frontier has entered LGA and EWR to Miami. Capacity for all NYC to MIA and all carriers is up with a shift to EWR and JFK airports and away from LGA.

  10. @mkcol Gold

    So has AA added frequency to the likes of the MIA-LAX/JFK routes, or just upsized the aircraft?

  11. Samo Guest

    It's a logical consequence of Florida being open, thus driving a lot of demand. With very limited options to have an enjoyable hassle-free holiday (open society, no masks, no travel restrictions) the demand for a certain destination can actually go up even if the overal market is down. This happened in Europe the last summer, when places with less strict restrictions were booming and experiencing pretty much the normal demand. As it becomes less likely...

    It's a logical consequence of Florida being open, thus driving a lot of demand. With very limited options to have an enjoyable hassle-free holiday (open society, no masks, no travel restrictions) the demand for a certain destination can actually go up even if the overal market is down. This happened in Europe the last summer, when places with less strict restrictions were booming and experiencing pretty much the normal demand. As it becomes less likely that the rest of the US will get to business-as-usual in time for the summer, Florida will thrive from it.

  12. D3kingg Diamond

    Seat 1J on a 77W ? A 5 hour flight from Mia to lax big deal. You people wouldn’t even know what to do with it. Those planes are intended for 16+ hr ultra long haul flights to Asia. I’d rather American keep those planes dormant and feed you some 11X daily bs with a321’s between Mia -lax and Mia - Jfk . Wow there’s a flight every hour.

  13. W Gold

    I mean, Asian flights have this all the time. ANA flies like 10x daily 777s between Tokyo and Osaka in the before times. SIA flies 9x daily between Singapore and Jakarta with A350s and 777s. CX flies Hong Kong-Taipei 10+ times daily, also with widebodies.

  14. Willy Guest

    All you selfish super spreaders should stay home.

  15. Ron Guest

    Maybe we'll see some of those out of Charlotte!

  16. Russ Member

    How did this article not bashing Miami and Florida make it out of OMAAT editorial control?
    !

  17. Justin Guest

    JFK-MIA is $249 on AA's 1st class on 777-300ERs...Pretty solid deal. Usually fly DL but I might book one on AA just to try it out

  18. Desdi2C Guest

    @Bill,

    At least they are not putting the heavies to and from Michigan, that would be a true super spreader event!!

  19. Takhliq Khan Guest

    Maybe they are getting those planes ready for eventual return of International travel.

  20. beachfan Diamond

    I am flying in a week on LAX-MIA, for $93, which was an upgradable fare with an AA Business Extra Cert.

    That's the best deal I've had since the last recession.

  21. D3kingg Diamond

    Very bad indicator that international travel won’t be returning anytime soon. Why not purchase an a380 from the secondary market while they’re at it ?

  22. Leon Member

    @Dick Bupkiss you're a moron. You're lying, you know you're lying, so why would you state that?

  23. shoeguy Gold

    "While American has historically occasionally operated 777s between Miami and New York, we’ve never seen the airline operate the 777 so consistently on the route. In particular, I don’t ever recall seeing the 777-300ER regularly scheduled in this market."

    Um, sorry no. AA has consistently operated the 777 on JFK-MIA-JFK for years on at least one and in some cases additional frequencies, notably as the 767s were on their way out, this does include the...

    "While American has historically occasionally operated 777s between Miami and New York, we’ve never seen the airline operate the 777 so consistently on the route. In particular, I don’t ever recall seeing the 777-300ER regularly scheduled in this market."

    Um, sorry no. AA has consistently operated the 777 on JFK-MIA-JFK for years on at least one and in some cases additional frequencies, notably as the 767s were on their way out, this does include the 77W though the mainstay has been the 772. Even more so during the pandemic when up to 2 x daily were on the 772 on some days of the week. AA's usage of the 777 on JFK-MIA has been to rotate planes between maintenance hubs. 777 maintenance is done at JFK and MIA among other locations.

  24. Sharon Guest

    My delta flight just got up gauged to the 767!! My favorite

  25. Josh Guest

    What happens after 9/31 and no more payroll support? The airline I don't think can prevent another bankruptcy. We'll see what happens.

  26. Bill Guest

    Yes just what the country needs. People going back and forth to Florida which is leading the country in covid variants. Florida is also leading the country in number of young people infected with covid

  27. And Diamond

    There’s an article on CNBC today about it. It’s not just Miami and it’s not just AA. It’s a trend due to international travel being so uncertain.

  28. Tim Dunn Diamond

    The flip side is that American's capacity share in Los Angeles and New York City relative to its primary competitors is shrinking. While they are adding capacity in some markets like Miami, they are pulling it out of larger markets.
    American never listed MIA as among its strongest hubs financially before covid and is engaged in an all-out attempt to protect it from B6 and WN and others that are aggressively growing in S....

    The flip side is that American's capacity share in Los Angeles and New York City relative to its primary competitors is shrinking. While they are adding capacity in some markets like Miami, they are pulling it out of larger markets.
    American never listed MIA as among its strongest hubs financially before covid and is engaged in an all-out attempt to protect it from B6 and WN and others that are aggressively growing in S. Florida - but without using widebodies.
    American has not yet gained a financial advantage since the pandemic began even while receiving the most federal aid in the industry.

  29. Will Guest

    I very much doubt Floridians will be visiting New York....

  30. AaronP Member

    I've been flying MIA-LAX-MIA as a mileage run in PE for $55 return. I'm guessing that is not a money maker for AA...

  31. Pierre Diamond

    There seems to be something wrong with AA'sd Website, with some of these 777s indicating "Systemwide Upgrades" but refusing to show the F cabin seats availability, and bonkers pricing ranging from 350 Y / 600 F to 1250Y / 1600 F which is ridiculous 3 months out and not a special day.

    Also, the seating availability display is all over the place, with some cabins / dates not showing.

  32. digifid Guest

    Same thing happening on Delta. My flights in June were upgraded with schedule changes yesterday. PDX to ATL was on 737-9 now on 767-3 and CUN to SLC was on 737-9 now on a330. Seems pretty silly since not many seats have sold. Had already upgraded to first so very pleased to have better seats now.

  33. 305 Guest

    MIA-PHL has 1x 772 and 1x 788 daily frequencies next month

  34. David Guest

    I think they're taking 777 from MIA-DFW for other MIA routes. So they're not adding more 777 to MIA.

    I have DFW-MIA scheduled on 777 but just got notification it's now a 321.

  35. Dick Bupkiss Guest

    Somebody's gotta fly all those superspreaders around the country to keep our COVID infection numbers up. Might as well be AA.

  36. dmodemd Guest

    ...and, more opportunity to get space between passengers for protection.

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.

PhilFliesFirst Guest

Amazing rates. I booked a RT LAX - MIA flight the week before the US Thanksgiving holiday (11/18) for only $917! Seated in Row 3, so proper First Class. So much to consider with respect to pilot training, crew certifications as well I imagine and the cost of fuel, food, beverages, I don’t see how they are eeking out any sort profit. Good luck! Thank you for the insight.

0
Jacob Uriel Guest

Your information really messed me up. They are not selling business class on this plane. They are selling first. What they did is they merged first and business class together. So, some people get real first seats and others get business class seats branded as first. It is not correct that "if you buy business" you can get yourself into first class. There is no first class. I booked a first class ticket and assumed I'd get a real first class seat.

0
Javier Rivera Guest

I think the article refers to domestic travel. He is missing MIA- PHL/CLT/SJU on that list. They all receive daily wide body service. If we go international, we’ll there are many more destinations outside of Colombia that are receiving widebodies.

0
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