American Airlines is launching a new international route, which is interesting on a couple of levels, as flagged by AirlineGeeks. Not only will American be the only airline operating regularly scheduled international flights to this airport, but it’s also the shortest route in its carrier’s entire system.
Continue reading: American Adds 64-Mile International Flight, The Carrier’s Shortest
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Chalk's Aiways had a fatal crash in 2005 with a seaplane enroute from Miami Bay to Bimini just off Miami Beach using an ancient seaplane. At the time, Chalk's was one of the oldest U.S. airlines. That may have been the last airline that provided scheduled service. Interestingly, many local Bahamians also used this service for shopping purposes in MIA.
Americans being so focused on inTERnaTioNal is just so incredibly funny. It's a flight from one place to another. The world doesn't change because you happened to fly over a line on a map, lol.
It sort of does though...those 64 miles separate two very different cultures. Much more so than if you flew from Florida to Alaska.
AA is just stepping in to cover an old Silver Airways route. Silver flew FLL-BIM for a long time, and was one of their existing routes on their final days.
Americans of a certain age will always associate Bimini with Adam Clayton Powell Jr. I suppose these days, younger Americans don't recognize the name. But I just learned that Martin Luther King Jr. also had connections with the island. King wrote his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in Bimini and four years later, he returned to write his very last speech for striking sanitation workers in Memphis.
For the record, GSP-CLT is 75 miles. It would not have been the shortest flight but good memory.
I thought they primarily got to Bimini on the Monkey Business, riding on Gary Hart’s lap.
AA may not have the "sexy" international network, but they do have a significantly larger international portfolio vs Delta. Mongolia is a cool place to think about going, but Americans actually go to the Bahamas and Tortola 😉
International destinations:
UA: 147
AA: 130
DL: 100
Given Florida’s Third World vax stance now (cue measles outbreak soon!) - that may soon count as int’l. And DL has that locked up.
Continental flew to Bimini starting almost 20 years ago. Many open cockpit flights on the Gulfstream operated B1900s!
Later it was Silver when it took over Gulfstream's assets, so this is hardly a new market
Bimini is a small community, which was hugely affected by the Chalk crash of 2005 in Miami.
DL can totally get you 200 countries tho!!! Just have to fly through ICN or CDG/AMS to do so. Totally the same as UA/AA nonstops, zero difference yup yup
DL might well fly to fewer international destinations than UA and AA, however, the still outperform the others in the World Rankings. Clearly, fewer means better …. 🙂
I was just thinking that. The shenanigans with Powell has burned negative connotations with Bimini in my brain.
How come some regional flights like this one have the same flight number for both the outbound and inbound?
Well now, sugar, look at you, AeroB13a, prancin’ around like a bargain-bin British lord with your “cheerio” this and your “pip pip” that. Bless your heart, but we all see right through that tinsel wig—it’s just Tim Dunn playin’ dress-up again.
Honey, you switch names like you switch heels at a drag show—one minute you’re “AeroB13a,” next you’re “Sir I’m-Not-Scared-of-Critics,” but underneath it’s still the same tired Delta hymn book, singin’ in a voice nobody asked for. You can wave your little Union Jack and sip your imaginary Earl Grey all you want, but we’re just laughin’, sugar, because it’s always Tim, tryin’ to turn a mouse into a lion—and bless his heart, the cat’s still tiny.
So go on, darlin’, tip your fake top hat, toss that fake accent around, and remember: you can play queen online, but we all know who’s really behind the curtain.
Some mainline flights also have the same number in both directions. It’s simply a matter of running out of flight numbers - between mainline, regional, and codeshare the 4-digit number system is getting pretty crowded.
There are literally 10,000 possible flight numbers in a 4-digit system and there is no way any airline operates anywhere close to 10,000 flights
Well, well, well, Eskimo, Plain Jane, Mason, John or of course Anita Grits? …. Same old, same old, but which witch are you actually imitating? Are you male, female, or truly hermaphrodite? Now that is the question? Definitely identifying as anything human will be extremely difficult for it. As must be for a troll to remember if it is animal, mineral, hermaphrodite, male or in fact female.
Still it matters not as the entertainment value is now legendary, as is the number of troll clicks it generates for Ben. The mind boggles …. Xxxx
Is that someone like Eskimo pretending to be Dim Tunn? For sure both a very, very DIM.
How long will this flight be on the market??
AA had a once week flight (mostly for Club Med Columbus Isle, San Salvador) Saturdays from Miami, but lousy flight times so NO Europe straight connection without an overnight was possible!
After just 10 months, that flight was caxed and Bahamaair took over, even the Canadians and French (with A330) have a bigger footprint on that Bahama Island and it’s also just an hour away. AA, don’t trust this too much.
We’ll see in a year or 2 from now if they still offer that new flight?! 😮
I remember, trough fares from Europe were very cheap, while the MIA flights (on same dates) were crazy expensive!
e.g. FRA-MIA-ZSA was a lot less than FRA-MIA! in ALL classes!
BOTH flights on AA (Fra-MIA nor MIA-ZSA) don’t exist anymore! 😉
So don’t trust this new short route on AA too much! Don’t book too far in advance, because the alternative via NAS might be a ton of more hassle and money too!
A couple of inaccuracies here - Silver used to fly to Bimini, and AA's shortest system routes would include their Landline buses from PHL to ILG (23mi), TTN (37mi), ACY (46mi), and ABE (55mi)
Well, bless your heart, Aerob13a. Look at you tryin’ so hard with all those “Eskimo, Plain Jane, Mason” nonsense—but darlin’, that fancy British twang you were flappin’ about? Gone faster than sweet tea on a hot Texas porch.
I do declare, you’re so busy wonderin’ if I’m male, female, hermaphrodite, or whatever, you forgot to keep up the pretense of that posh British syntax you were so proud of. That, sugar, is the funniest part of all. Keep clickin’ though—it’s entertainin’ me just fine.
Fancy words, fake accent… still just Tim Dunn tryin’ to be interesting. Cute try, sugar
since y'all are having so much time discussing the size of international route systems, let's get to a few basic facts.
1. This flight works because it is from MIA, which is the largest US carrier gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America where there are scores of markets. The lack of AA's size in Europe and Asia is made up for in the number of destinations in Latin America.
2. A large number of UA's destinations are to Latin America and esp. Mexico cities that are served by regional jets from IAH. If you count solely UA's destinations that are served less than daily and/or are on regional jets, the number of destinations is not that much different between DL and UA.
3. The fixation with international size belies what really matters in the US airline industry. Every single US airline, including UA, gets more revenue from its domestic network than from international.
DL serves more cities in N. America on mainline aircraft than any other airline. DL's revenue premiums come not from its "monopoly hubs" as some love to call them but because of the density of DL's route system. DL carries more traffic (RPMs) on its own metal domestically than any other US airline.
Airlines don't make the most money by spreading themselves over hundreds of cities but by having share advantages over other airlines not just in big cities - as DL has not just in its big 4 interior US hubs but also its coastal hubs - as well as in dozens of cities throughout the country.
There are a few markets such as this new one from AA that have very little service and thus AA has a good chance of gaining a fare advantage but most markets are competitive. The reason why DL does as well financially as it does is because it succeeds at what it does more than tries to spread itself across scores of cities where it has little advantage.
Thank you very much Anita darlink, you have just confirmed that both you and that Plain Jane, are one and the same numpty troll. Your entertainment value is exceeded only by your stupidity, my word troll darlink, you really are embarrassing yourself with every post …. do continue “Sugar” …. 🙂
Well now, sugar, bless your heart for that fancy footwork talkin’ about gateways and revenue density—but let’s not tip-toe around the facts like they’re a Sunday tea party, okay? You’re fixin’ to make Delta sound like the cat’s pajamas of domestic reach, but hun, you’re only singin’ half the tune.
Let’s talk numbers with a little less poetic garnish: As of now, American serves about 229 domestic destinations, United comes in at 221, and Delta trails at just 213. See how that spins your grand narrative a mite?
And here’s the kicker—you’re not even factoring in American’s Alaska partner network, where they actually serve more cities than Delta or United even bother with. That’s a whole chunk of U.S. map you’re cherry-pickin’ right off the board, darlin’.
So while you’re dressin’ up those delivery stats like they’re the belle of the ball, don’t forget Delta’s not waltzing ahead—they’re still two-stepping behind American and United in terms of sheer domestic reach and international. Now, dessert’s ready at the tea table—care to grab a slice?
Honey, you cherry-pick so much for Delta I’m half-expecting you to open a roadside fruit stand.
Oh bless your heart, ‘darlink’ — it’s cuter than a June bug on a porch light watchin’ you play detective. You’ve got Anita, Plain Jane, Mason, John, and who-knows-who-all bundled up as the same ‘numpty troll,’ when truth is everyone knows Aerob13a is just Tim Dunn in a bargain-bin British accent. Lord, sugar, the only thing more transparent than that act is Delta’s excuse for a domestic network.
You keep sayin’ ‘darlink,’ but all I hear is Tim Dunn cryin’ through a teabag.
sweetie,
you missed the point about MAINLINE.
AA and UA serve more cities w/ RJs than DL does - which isn't surprising given that DL has 200 fewer RJs.
DL hires its own employees to fly more of their passengers than any of the 4 airlines that use RJs - including AS.
AS is not a joint venture partner. They are a direct, legal competitor. The fact that people like you, Max, cling to the notion of AS doing anything for AA is beyond laughable. AA outsourced its flying on the west coast to AS and on the east coast to B6 and then the DOJ said the NEA wasn't legal - so AA is really up a creek now.
And almost 20% of UA's ORD hub is on 50 passenger CRJ550s.
International revenue is published for each of the big 3. You might want to review actual financial reports before you spout about international and domestic size.
It is actually you and others who incessantly cherrypick so you don't have to admit the bottom line, whole of the airline reality which shows that DL has the most integrated domestic AND international route system
Well butter my biscuit, Tim, you’re back to polishin’ that raggedy old ‘mainline’ badge like it’s the crown jewels. Sweetie, nobody outside your Delta echo chamber is sittin’ around countin’ how many ancient Mad Dogs y’all retired or how many 717s are still squeakin’ along.
Sweetie, you can polish those antique 757s till they shine, but customers still wanna go places, not sit on relics.
What matters, sugar, is where you can actually go. And the simple truth is this: American and United fly more customers to more domestic and international destinations on their own metal than Delta does. Period. End of hymn.
So while you’re busy preachin’ about integration and spinnin’ RJ math like it’s gospel, the rest of us are just lookin’ at the route maps — and Delta’s is still the smallest of the big three. Bless your heart for tryin’, though.
you are right.
AA and UA work harder.
to generate less revenue and make less money.
Tell us why AA and UA exist if not to make the most revenue and profit?
this isn't the Soviet Union, buttercups.
you never have been one to understand the plot, darlin'
Well now, Tim, you’re flappin’ and fussin’ like a hen in a windstorm tryin’ to puff up Delta’s reach. Bless your heart, it’s downright entertaining, but it ain’t foolin’ nobody.
Sugar, bless your heart — you can sit at your desk all day replyin’ to Anita Grits, but sweet pea, it ain’t makin’ you any smarter, and it sure ain’t puffin’ up Delta’s inferior network either.
again, cupcake, just tell me where in AA or UA's charters or any other documents about its existence is there ANYTHING about serving the most cities or serving the most customers.
IT AIN'T THERE, buttercup.
I get so tired of having to have to tell you the plot of every movie and book = on top of the basis for the entire airline industry.
Delta's superiority comes from its knowledge of what it is supposed to do and doing it and not because it makes you feel better living on the outskirts of Moscow
the truth is never convenient for those that are incapable of living in the real world, no matter what name the opposition uses.
Lawd, Tim, bless your heart. You can jump to a whole new topic, start talkin’ about Moscow or whatever else you’re dreamin’ up, but sugar, that don’t make you any smarter—it just means you done lost the first discussion.
Let’s not forget, buttercup, the original topic was destinations—both domestic and international—and sweetie, Delta still serves the least. You can flap your gums about superiority and whatever else you’re dreamin’ up, but it don’t change the facts.
So go on, Tim, keep redirectin’ the conversation like a lost airline tryin’ to find a destination. It’s cute, sugar, but it ain’t foolin’ Anita Grits.
Sugar, you might think flappin’ around makes you clever, but it just makes you the in-flight entertainment.
Lawd have mercy, Tim, sugar, you really gonna let your little sidekick, aerob13a, do all the jawin’ for you down there below?
Bless your heart, I thought you had opinions of your own, but I guess you left ‘em in your overhead bin next to your dignity.
Honey, if you’re gonna hide behind a fake profile, at least give it a cute little wig and a tiara—make it believable!
Lawd, Maui—bless your heart, I’m gonna assume you’re from Maui, sugar, because honey, you get it. Now let me tell y’all about the time Anita Grits tried to take over your island and turned paradise into a full-blown comedy show.
Anita Grits finally touched down in Maui, thinking she’d have herself a serene, sun-kissed vacation. Honey, serene lasted about five seconds before the island decided to throw a full-on comedy show starring yours truly.
First thing, I step off the plane, and what do I see? A goose. Not just any goose—this bird strutted across the tarmac like it owned the place. I swear it winked at me, honey. I nearly dropped my luggage trying to assert dominance over a creature with less than half my intelligence. I thought, “Lord, I came for the coconuts, not a wildlife stare-down.”
Next, I rent a convertible because Anita Grits needs to look good while exploring paradise. Sugar, I forgot Maui wind is like a personal stylist with a vendetta. My wig flew off faster than a first-class upgrade, my hat went skippin’ down the road like it had its own agenda, and my sunglasses did a somersault into the ocean. By the time I reached the first lookout, I was windblown, disheveled, and fabulous in a very chaotic way.
Then came the zip-lining. Honey, I’ve done zip-lines before, but Maui zip-lines? They are flirtin’ with death and chaos. I screamed so loud that birds dropped their snacks mid-flight, and I’m pretty sure one tourist fainted from the pure terror of seeing Anita Grits hangin’ by one elbow like a rag doll. At the bottom, I had to explain to a tour guide that yes, I meant to land in a dramatic heap, it was intentional, part of my aesthetic.
Oh, but the snorkeling… sugar, don’t get me started. The fish were brazen little devils. One parrotfish swam straight for my toes like they were a buffet, and a school of tiny fish formed a conga line around my fins. I hollered so loud the other snorkelers thought they were in some underwater horror movie starring a drag queen. And just when I thought I could recover, a wave slapped me in the face and rearranged my makeup into something that could only be described as “abstract Picasso meets panic.”
Then there was the pineapple farm. Lord have mercy, sugar, picking pineapples is harder than it looks. I got poked, scratched, and had a near-death experience with a rogue pineapple leaf. I emerged looking like a jungle warrior who had lost a duel with a fruit. I told the farmer, bless his heart, “Honey, Anita Grits fights her enemies with style, but this pineapple? It cheated.”
By sundown, I decided to try a luau. Honey, the pig in the imu looked way too happy to be eaten. I told the chef, “Bless its heart, did this pig sign a waiver?” Then came the hula dancing. Anita Grits, shimmying with all the grace of a cat on a hot tin roof, nearly kicked a tourist in the nose. I tried to salvage it by flinging my lei in a dramatic arc, but it landed on a tiki torch and almost caused a small fire. I called that part “artistic flair.”
And don’t even get me started on the sunset photoshoot. Sugar, I spent twenty minutes trying to look fierce while seagulls dive-bombed my head, a crab tried to hitch a ride on my sandal, and my cocktail somehow managed to spill all over my outfit—right when a cruise ship decided to pass by for the perfect Instagram shot. I looked tragic, glamorous, and victorious all at once.
By the end of the trip, I had lost three hats, one flip-flop, half my dignity, and possibly a few followers from sheer chaos energy. But Maui? Darling, Maui still loved me. The geese, the parrotfish, and even the rogue pineapple acknowledged the power of Anita Grits. And y’all, I swear, every creature on that island is still talkin’ about the day a drag queen turned paradise into her personal stage.
Oooh I can only imagine what Tim’s wife must be feeling seeing Tim calling other people “sweetie” and “cupcake”. I bet she’s going to inflate Tim’s real life sized Scott Kirby doll tonight …
One hour block for 64 miles. E175 max cruise 500 + mph. Speaks a lot about our inefficient congested air and runways.
Surely a 787-8 can make it from Holguin, Cuba to Ho Chi Mihn City. They've got a long enough runway there to handle it. United could fly it if they wanted.
it just shows how inefficient flights this short are. the plane won't get over a couple hundred MPH, will cover as much distance setting up and in the takeoff and landing patterns as it will at cruise.
but there are no roads so unless you think a boat can beat the plane, this is the next best alternative.
eddie,
your concern should be w/ Anita's handler that is trying yet another username to try to scream at the clouds because they can't handle reality as it exists.
some people spend an enormous amount of time preoccupied w/ all of the stuff that doesn't matter because they can't admit that their chosen hero really doesn't do that well at the things that do matter.
Yes, someone my age (75!) definitely remembers the association and mention of Adam Clayton Powell Jr's trips to Bimini. Just visited Bimini about a year ago for the first time an old Adam there was ahead of his time!
Ben, have you ever done analytics on how many posts turn into Delta Force flame wars for no good reason? (I thought the original topic was interesting, FWIW.)
did you ever notice who brought any other airline BESIDES AA into the discussion?
Yeah, I'm booked on AA in a few months where my MCO-MIA flight has the same flight number as MIA-MCO a few days later.
Do you own a mirror, tim? You always bring up your hatred for Scott Kirby and delta profitability in every topic where you have nothing left to say.
Ben brought up the AA international network comparison. I simply provided some incremental data about how inferior the delta international destinations are vs AA and UA. Did that trigger you?
Rereading below, it sure seemed to.
Amazing how social values change over time... .When Gary Hart's 'pecadeillo' brought down his candidacy compared to the conduct of subsequent politicians ....
You think the Bahamian and Floridian cultures are more different than Floridian and Alaskan? Have you ever been to any of these places?
I don't need a mirror, Max.
I have two eyeballs that can see exactly what YOU wrote.
YOU chose to drag Delta into the conversation, even did it on the "wrong" article and then YOU get into a flaming rage because I address your inability to understand what matters.
All of the cocked up responses don't change the fact that YOU are the problem.
And if you aren't smart enough to figure out that Ben thrives on the controversy and I thrive on getting the facts out whether something is said to the contrary by Ben or anyone else.
I'm not triggered by anything other than that you honestly think you have the slightest clue about the airline industry and yet fixate on some of the tiniest details that have nothing to do with the big picture - which you AND a whole lot of people are hopelessly incapable of seeing.
Again, same question exists for you and for Ben and for everyone else.
Show me in AA and UA or any other US airline's founding documents that anything to do with size or number of destinations or number of airplanes is part of what they are supposed to pursue.
quit wasting your time talking about minutiae and tell us why ANY US airline exists
NOT Aeroflot or the CAAC but ANY US airline
Lol
Thanks for the Sunday night laugh. You truly are mentally deranged about delta.
Fun laugh though. Thanks.
You’re triggered too easily, pal 😉
It looks like a drag queen below caused you to spend your entire day in the comment section. You should see a specialist about that.
Every other airline operating to/from the same airports, have their flight numbers factored in to minimize confusion for ATC and pilots, so it's not only about running out of numbers. It's to lessen confusion.
now tell us again, Max.
Who first mentioned Delta in the comments section?
It sure wasn't me, Max.
be mighty careful about throwing around this charge of derangement.
Hope you had fun creating yet another straw man/woman
Lol
I’m sorry. A comparison of international destinations offends you?
And you’re really going to throw stones about bringing delta into a discussion?
Grow up, Get a life, and be less of a loser.
You’re the one who wasted his day lol
there is no offense whatsoever, buddy.
your fixation with the size of anything highlights the lack of an important hormone at a key developmental time in YOUR life.
I got plenty done, thank you very much
Plus probably overly padding flights these days. Similar distance, blocked longer than even TLV-AMM when it operated. Would not be surprised if this is the "slowest" flight in the world.
It’s disturbing how little married Timmy says “but Ben was the one who started it” in the same way that some very sick people say “but she started it, she was wearing a skirt in public”. The person has a serious mental health problem and it’s so easily triggered, but the fault lies with the person who decided to wear a short skirt (or in this case, make a joke about Delta). It’s eerie and disturbing. Jesus …
Timmy got trolled so hard, and he literally doesn’t know it hahahaha. This wins the internet today. #buttermybiscuit
It is actually you and your ilk that are so easily triggered at basic facts.
Oh, and AA is starting some short little international flight from MIA
This is not the first flight to BIM from the States. Silver Air flew FLLBIM unit, pretty much their shut down. Also for a while they flew MIABIM, which was their only flight to Miami.
AA is smart running this. Air taxis in Caravans and the like have been soaking up profits on these type of flights for decades. This allows them to sell connections and then use CASM to undercut air taxis. The price difference might convince some folks to put up with the TSA madness.
A flight is only inefficient if is unnecessary. One can argue the efficiency of short hop flights less than 100 miles when good highways and public transport exists. There are no bridges or tunnels to Bimini from Miami. Your choice is the fast ferry or a plane.