Admittedly I take more of an interest in Miami International Airport (MIA) than the average person, given that it’s my home airport (unfortunately). Im subscribed to receive email updates about the Miami-Dade Airport Committee Agenda, since this is often how we learn about new lounges, and other developments at the airport, before they’re otherwise publicly…
Continue reading: Miami Wants Nonstop Flights To Asuncion, Riyadh, Singapore (Lol), Tokyo
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I’m really surprised MIA or ATL don’t have any service to Tokyo. DFW and IAH both do. You would think at least one airport in the fast growing southeast would have it.
The A350-900ULR is the only ship with the range (plus reserves) to cover Singapore. But, would there be sufficient passenger demand? Maybe yes, maybe no.
It's just a matter of when and who will be the first East Asian carrier to Miami and not if. CX looked at it years ago as well as China Airlines and JAL.
Maybe if Miami reps bought a few $20k business class flights to attend some conference they could attract the routes to their airport
Lots of demand to/from South America (especially Brazil) and Japan…could have a lot of potential for JL with the AA feed from MIA. And it’s more direct than going via Europe / Middle East, which is what most of that traffic flow does currently
When I was living in South Florida, one of the disappointments was the lack of nonstop flights to East Asia; however, I recognized that it was pretty far, and a stop in ATL, NYC, LAX, or DOH, DXB, etc., was simply the ‘price’ to get to Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan. Worth it. Adding a nonstop to Tokyo would be epic, not only for those who enjoy traveling there, but also, because it would contribute to making Miami and even more international place. Who knows, could lead to better food quality in FL.
What seems unlikely is the nonstop from MIA-SIN. I’ve taken SQ21/22/23/24 from JFK/EWR-SIN, and fellas, those flights are LONG, already about 19 hours, and usually eastbound each way. So, from MIA, that’d add at least 2 hours of flight time, and if Russian airspace is still off limits (good call, because, you know, MH17), the route is over the Atlantic, past Europe, Turkey, Caucuses, Afghanistan, India, Thailand, etc. After 17 hours, you start to go a little crazy, even in Business Class. Not sure that would mix well with ‘Florida Man.’ Besides, Miami is basically the same climate as Singapore, just swap AM/PM with the time difference.
Those that are connecting to south America usually go through DFW or LAX. Since it's more convenient . MIA seems out of the way for a connection down south.
Even that a359ULR might not make it on that route. MIA-SIN would be an extra 2 hours on top of EWR/JFK-SIN, which is already 19 hours. Project Sunrise SYD-LHR/CDG/JFK is shorter. Airbus would likely need to make an extra special a359UULR. And, once they do that, I presume some ‘wise guy’ is gonna want a nonstop between Beijing and Buenos Aires, so they’ll need a a359UUULR. Supposedly, China Eastern is launching that Shanghai to Buenos Aires service, but it stops in Auckland, NZ.
One of my favorite flights was Delta’s ATL-NRT service on their 747-400 (from NWA); when they offered the special edition Delta Reserve Amex credit card with metal from one of the aircraft that served that route, I jumped on that. Whenever that card expires, I’m not sending it back.
Brandon, your perspective may be depend on where you are based (like, if you’re on the West Coast or in Texas), but objectively, MIA has AA’s most flights to South America (and Central America, and the Caribbean).
Like, for example, if you want to fly to more eclectic destinations in Latin America, like Montevideo, Uruguay, you won’t find that outta LAX, DTW, or JFK… just MIA, because it has the most options for that particular region.
Not sure what the rotations could be, but what about a MIA-HND-SIN? Other options could be SEA and YVR as connecting points
Paranair have a fair few international flights from ASU, although nothing long haul. I suspect they'll be more than happy to fly to MIA if some kind of incentive is offered because it'd help them grab connecting traffic from/to the Cono Sur.
Good luck, Miami. AA is the world’s largest regional airline. so AA’s not going g to help with this wish list.
I am surprised JAL doesn't fly Washington DC to Tokyo. Surely, it would consider this before a Tokyo Miami route, unless it does Miami as a 5fth freedom stop to South America as it used to do years ago with a stop in NYC.
How do japanese business travellers fly into latin america? Via dubai and doha? or via LAX/SFO or even Dallas? If JAL wants to deliver one stop to Latin America, MIA could make sense because of its extensive LA network by AA but what is the current situation? Do DFW/LAX/SFO provide enough connections to most LA destinations by AA? I think that would be the key for JL to launch MIA
AM fly from NRT straight into CDMX, there's no need to connect on the wrong side of the border.
NH already fly to IAD-HND, which is a better fit since it’s a UA hub (whom they have a Trans-Pacific JV with). UA also operates their own daily IAD-HND frequency. Not sure JL would be too eager to jump in considering their focus on serving AA hubs.
Asunción seems the most likely of that list. But instead of American offering it, what about LatAm? They already fly out of ASU and also out of MIA, just not directly between the two.
Last time I flew GRU-MIA on LatAm, a number of passengers were connecting from ASU.
From a passenger experience perspective, it's far from 'more direct'.
Few people would want to connect in a country which makes them cross passport control (often with huge queues), obtain an evisa, and even recheck their luggage when they can do it seamlessly via FRA etc.
Data about the current (connecting) traffic would be useful. Yes, you have to search for it, but it's publicly available.
You can already book MIA-SFO-SIN and MIA-YVR-SIN on UA and AC respectively. A one stop routing wouldn’t provide much advantage over existing options (especially since on the inbound, all passengers will need to all deplane and clear US immigrations if the flight stops-over at a US airport like SEA).
@Wayward
I agree with you somewhat but DC is also kind of a weird market. Flying TYO-IAD would be for Washington O&D and connections and there's no question AA and oneworld have VERY strong loyalty due to the DCA hub, but it just wouldn't be connecting traffic in IAD.
why would anyone fly United (or worse AC) when superior convenient one stop options via DOH and DXB already exist
Flew Asunción for years @ AA out of MIA on the 757 What’s new about this. City and customers were top notch. Great market and it was always full.
I don't think there's an open skies agreement allowing Brazilian airlines to operate from ASU. LATAM Chile might be able to do it but they've got no flights to Paraguay at the moment.
Singapore would only work w/ a stop in Europe, if SQ wants to run it. If SIN-Moscow-IAH worked at one point in the past, SQ could certainly make MIA work via Barcelona, Rome, Dublin?, Vienna? (avoiding typical major hubs).
I could see the RUH-MIA route being started by Riyadh Air due to the stron deamnds from local Saudis to visit and study in Miami. Many currently connect(usually in LHR) to reach MIA from Riyadh. SO there is strong demand for this market.
JAL used to fly to ATL in the 90s, and AA had a one-stop MIA-SJC/SEA-NRT service for some time.
I don't think Tokyo is that likely from AA.
But MIA could probably actually get Korean Air to ICN. KE actually has a pretty hefty US network and fly to many non-DL hubs like LAS, IAD, and DFW.
Singapore couldn’t get Chicago or Houston to work. Not sure Miami would be any better.
CLT should have an TYO flight from AA or JAL, at least in my opinion. It's a little-known fact, but NC is actually the top-ranking US state for Japan direct investment, so for it not to have a flight of its own to Japan is fairly ridiculous. On top of that, CLT would allow for much more convenient transfers to the rest of the East Coast than DFW or ORD as well.
It's quite a bit shorter to fly westbound (especially via YVR) than flying eastbound and connecting in the Gulf. Also, United has definitely been improving lately, and is better overall than Emirates in business class (Polaris seats beat Emirates' old 777 business class in 2-3-2 configuration).
It's kind of embarrassing that they highlighted Singapore as a route they're targeting, since it's neither possible nor economically viable. It suggests the MIA airport authority folks don't actually understand their industry very well!
Singapore has many Direct flights that are not non-stop, Direct with 1 layover (e.g. LAX-SIN has a stop in TYO). So I'm unsure why MIA-SIN was rejected out of hand.
Apologies, I thought I had a source for that direct investment claim above, but after double-checking, I can't find it. Regardless, there's still huge levels of Japanese investment in NC (for example, Toyota's massive battery factory, Fujifilm and Morinaga operations and factories, plus of course Hondajet, as well as others such as Denso and Nipro.) So, I think there's still ample potential for a direct flight here, plus the obvious advantages of the major AA regional hub.
I definitely think we'll eventually see MIA-TYO/ICN. Helps with South American-Asia connectivity
Avoid MIA at all costs! Everything is broken, nothing ever gets fixed, moving sidewalks don't work, escalators are broken for months on end. It discraceful that this airport is in the United States. It feels like you arrived in third world country.
I have also met a lot of Saudis in Miami, some of which are students studying abroad, and some of which are Saudis vacationing in Miami. Once Riyadh Air has a connecting network and established flights to their main priority destinations, I expect to see MIA flights added as well.
Miami is my home airport too and what an embarrassment it is. While these are interesting routes, Miami to South Asia would be an interesting proposition. The airport would need to be fixed from a disaster to a more modern and appealing airport.
I think SQ may be able to make MIA service work this way. The difference with SQ flying to MIA compared to their IAH and ORD one-stop service failure was because the latter two have much more connectivity to Europe on United (another Star Alliance carrier) along with other international airlines. Meanwhile, if SQ flew to Miami through Europe, I'm sure they could find a market where people would choose to fly with the carrier over the current options. Either because SQ will be the only airline serving the route nonstop (such as VIE or DUB - Aer Lingus only flies to MIA in the winter). I could see Barcelona being a good option because of endless demand. Level and AA are the only nonstop options right now. I'm sure SQ could capture some passenger's looking for a better experience. However, fares between MIA and BCN are quite low already, so I wouldn't bet on this 100%. MIA-FCO is too competitive in my opinion. ITA flies that route up to 2x daily with new aircraft and an amazing product in all cabins. AA will also be operating that route. AA is starting nonstop MIA-MXP service next summer, and I could see SQ operating that route as a potential MIA service.
Its possible that Miami could replace Houston on Singapore Airlines old IAH-MAN-SIN route.
Can't really see a case for JAL wanting to expand to MIA. To my knowledge there's no real connection traffic angle since Chicago, Dallas, and CDMX provide great one-stop coverage, and I can't imagine there's much O/D demand for business or tourism either but I could be wrong on that one. Atlanta has a larger Japanese diaspora AFAIK, and Atlanta already has direct connections through Delta. United and American both offer a pittance of flights out of ATL, so not like either has much incentive to try to attract connection traffic there.
SIA is too timid in the US market. Look how they dropped Houston last year, while at the same time, Cathay and EVA jumped into rapidly growing DFW. Starlux and China Airlines both first to PHX for Asian routes, Korean Air first in SLC, and SIA is nowhere to be found.
Brazil, specifically the states of São Paulo and Paraná, is home to the largest Japanese diaspora in the world. There is also a large Brazilian-Japanese community living in Japan. Both JAL and VARIG maintained flights from São Paulo to Tokyo for decades, with a stopover at LAX. JAL later operated flights via JFK. Even VASP flew from GRU to Osaka and Seoul as well.
Clearly, there's a large market, but I don't think it's via Miami, but rather via LAX.
I could see a MIA-ASU route done by Copa. They already go there from PTY, so adding a route directly from North America would make sense, especially since they already have a presence at MIA.
Could definitely see ASU on AA within 5 years. Also Bolivia. The XLR is the perfect plane. AA just needs enough of them.
Their whole model is flying people via PTY, there's absolutely no chance of them starting to add off-hub routes.
Japan-Brazil is difficult because one can logically connect almost anywhere in the world, and the US requires everyone to pass through immigration, which is at least a hassle and can make a US connection out of the question for many travelers. Europe was a popular connecting point before the Ukraine war; in the early 2010s I saw a bunch of people transferring between TAM and ANA at CDG. Nowadays most discerning business travelers would take QR or EK. Connecting in Mexico is also an option.
DXB and DOH are the best connecting points between Japan and GRU/GIG/EZE. Between Japan and other LatAm destinations, most savvy business travelers I know prefer DFW or IAH, as immigration and connections tend to be smoother there than at LAX, JFK, ORD, etc.
Most of high paying customers move to Miami and Florida. I won't surprise if all New York routes will move to Miami in next 2 years. Its always follow money, which was reason of LAX, NY hub not the ease of flying
While NYC has stagnated a lot, Miami and Florida have a long way to go to catch up.
The Miami CSA is not even in the top 10 of the US lol. Less than 1/3 the population and GDP of NYC.
If anything Miami has a disproportionately small amount of money for its population.
It has 50% more population than the Seattle metro, yet a lower GDP.
Most 3rd world airports are much better than MIA. Former South Floridian here.
The Brazil - Asia market now goes via the ME carriers. SAO has EK/Tk/QR amongst others. US transit is too complicated for Brazilian passport holders - visa required.
Maybe Mayor Daniella could travel to Saudi, Japan and Singapore on taxpayer's dime to meet with stake holders.
She loves grift trips.
Miami - Tokyo makes a lot of sense. It will happen. But, it might be ANA that takes the plunge first.
Miami - Hong Kong (via 5th freedom to YVR) is one that also makes a ton of sense. The JFK-HKG (via YVR) was fun... great CX service and you could just stay on the plane.
Republicans are under some sort of delusion that all the money is going to red states and cities when reality is showing the opposite. I listen to this daily at work from people making less money than the union workers they are the bosses of once you factor in hours worked
Exactly, they have two and during season three daily flights ASU-PTY, with a lot of Paraguayan going to the Caribbean or Florida, New York etc. Thus, their hub in PTY is perfect to fill their planes out of ASU.
I used to occasionally fly AA #62 MIA-(DFW)-NRT, a thru flight. So, I always suspected the non-stop was aspirational for MIA if not AA.
Correct. Even though Texans in Dallas or Houston might tout their population overtaking the SF Bay Area soon, they still have half of the SF Bay Area GDP
While I am not saying MIA-SIN is going to happen, I don’t think it is as less likely as you emphatically say. As a non stop maybe. However SIN does do fifth freedom routes. For example it used to do SIN-MAN-IAH, SIN-FRA-JFK so there is no reason it couldn’t do Miami. Particularly as South American connections are low from Asia.
However not a big Star airport so less likely. But certainly more likely than Sarasota to Yangon!!
Surprised Hong Kong doesn’t feature on the list because might have more chance attracting Cathay given oneworld traffic.
I’m with you on that. It was such an emphatic NO. Chances of SIN happening in next 5 years are higher than chances of Riyadh happening in next 5.
There is not going to be demand, if you don't create the environment for the demand. MIA-NRT is totally feasible and a great idea.
Miami doesn't deserve anything in Asia without a one stop in DFW, LAX, or ORD. Simply put, a nonstop from Miami to any part of Asia, it takes away from the other connecting cities in the Midwest, Pacific North, and the Northeast. Those airports depend on the passenger's connection to Florida. It's the same in reverse if Seattle for example were to receive nonstop flights to Sao Paulo, where most of Seattle's passengers were connecting from Miami. And it doesn't matter how many Asians live in Miami or Florida, respect the law of the land. It's the same reason why Chicago only got Sao Paulo and Bogota, because anything else would make sense. Also about Chicago, it's in the Middle of the US, so it can take a little of everything but not a lot of one thing. South America, Miami can take a lot of one thing, and the same with Europe.
All international flights should go to Fort Lauderdale, not Miami. FLL is a superior airport and is only 20 minutes from Miami.
Miami should also consider direct flights to India, with Air India.
Direct flight to Abu Dhabi would be nice too, for people who prefer to fly Star Alliance.
Hong Kong, Beijing, or Shanghai, should be on the list too.
I suspect the reason for the Airport asking for a lobby is because it is backed up by the data which is looking at current SIN-MIA traffic. Cargo volumes are also important. With SIN being a major cargo hub for Asia and MIA being for the Americas.
Why not Tatooine as well? Since you're just naming places regardless of actual demand.
FLL is NOT superior. It is a landlocked, joke of an airport that only serves the purpose for domestic flights. MIA, has, and always will be, better than FLL.
Given the state the US is in right now, asking Santa for a non-stop route from Miami to Singapore is actually one of the least crazy things that's happening so far this year. It wasn't on my bingo card for 2026 though. Just imagine an Airbus A321XLR without any payload and just a few enormous fuel tanks added. Let's make it happen! Or otherwise with a bit of payload and a fuel stop in Pyongyang. The possibilities are endless!