Over the past year American Airlines has been adding service to Austin, and for all practical purposes I’d consider it a focus city for the airline (even if American doesn’t publicly acknowledge that). That expansion will continue, and by this fall American and its partners are expected to operate nearly 100 peak day departures from the airport (this includes Alaska, British Airways, and JetBlue).
A few days ago it was announced that American is adding 14 new routes out of Austin and expanding service in existing markets. These flights have gone on sale, so we now have a sense of the aircraft that will be used. Let’s go over the details.
American’s domestic expansion out of Austin
American will be adding nine new domestic routes from Austin, and will expand frequencies in five existing domestic markets from Austin.
American will be adding flights between Austin (AUS) and the following nine domestic destinations this fall, all to be operated by American Eagle Embraer E175s:
- Cincinnati (CVG) 2x daily as of September 8, 2021
- El Paso (ELP) 3x daily as of September 8, 2021
- Indianapolis (IND) 2x daily as of September 8, 2021
- Jacksonville (JAX) 1x daily as of September 8, 2021
- Kansas City (MCI) 2x daily as of September 8, 2021
- Oklahoma City (OKC) 2x daily as of September 8, 2021
- Reno (RNO) 1x daily as of September 8, 2021
- St. Louis (STL) 2x daily as of September 8, 2021
- Tulsa (TUL) 1x daily as of November 2, 2021
On top of that, American is adding frequencies between Austin (AUS) and the following five existing domestic destinations this fall, to be operated by a combination of mainline aircraft and regional jets:
- Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) additional 2x daily as of November 2, 2021
- Orlando (MCO) additional 1x daily as of October 7, 2021
- Miami (MIA) additional 2x daily as of October 7, 2021
- New Orleans (MSY) additional 1x daily as of October 7, 2021
- Tampa (TPA) additional 1x daily as of November 2, 2021
American’s international expansion out of Austin
Starting this fall, American will operate seven international flights from Austin. No, we’re not talking about Madrid or Tokyo, but rather we’re talking about flights to the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico, etc.
American will be adding flights between Austin (AUS) and the following seven international destinations this fall, all to be operated by mainline Boeing 737-800s:
- Cancun (CUN) 4x weekly as of October 7, 2021
- Liberia (LIR) 3x weekly as of November 2, 2021
- Nassau (NAS) 4x weekly as of November 2, 2021
- Punta Cana (PUJ) 4x weekly as of November 2, 2021
- Puerto Vallarta (PVR) 3x weekly as of November 2, 2021
- San Jose del Cabo (SJD) 3x weekly as of October 7, 2021
- San Juan (SJU) 1x daily as of October 7, 2021 (admittedly this isn’t international, but for all practical purposes it seems more appropriate to include it with this category based on the type of route this is)
Five of these are new routes that hadn’t previously been operated, while the Nassau and San Jose del Cabo routes are being operated as a summer seasonal service this year, but are now being added year-round.
Bottom line
It’s really impressive to see American Airlines’ growth in Austin. Going back a couple of years, Austin was an airport where American exclusively operated service to its hubs, while nowadays the airport is becoming a focus city. While American isn’t calling Austin a focus city, it’s hard to view it any other way.
American’s expansion in Austin has now been added to the schedule — American will mostly be using regional jets for its domestic point-to-point expansion, while the airline is using 737s for most of its international expansion.
While Southwest remains the biggest airline in Austin, American is now leading the way among the legacy airlines, and seems poised to grow even further.
What do you make of American Airlines’ growth in Austin?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.