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 Airlines has just become the first major US airline to announce new Europe routes that are launching as of the summer of 2026. It includes a couple of new destinations, plus additional service to existing destinations. I don’t think there’s anything here that’s really going to rock the boat. For that matter, most of these are routes that were operated at some point in the past.
In this post:
American adds five Europe routes in summer 2026
American has announced plans to launch five new routes to Europe in the summer of 2026. Compared to the current schedule, two of these flights are to new destinations, while three of these flights are new routes to existing destinations. These flights are all expected to go on sale as of August 11, 2025.
When it comes to destinations not currently served:
- As of May 21, 2026, American will offer summer seasonal flights between Philadelphia (PHL) and Budapest (BUD) using Boeing 787-8s
- As of May 21, 2026, American will offer summer seasonal flights between Philadelphia (PHL) and Prague (PRG) using Boeing 787-8s
Then when it comes to new routes to existing destinations:
- As of March 29, 2026, American will offer year-round flights between Miami (MIA) and Milan (MXP) using Boeing 787-8s
- As of May 21, 2026, American will offer summer seasonal flights between Dallas (DFW) and Athens (ATH) using Boeing 787-8s
- As of May 21, 2026, American will offer summer seasonal flights between Dallas (DFW) and Zurich (ZRH) using Boeing 777-200ERs
American also highlights how it’s increasing the number of premium seats on flights to Tokyo:
- As of March 29, 2026, American will fly the Boeing 777-300ER between Dallas (DFW) and Tokyo (HND)
- As of March 29, 2026, American will fly the Boeing 777-200ER between Los Angeles (LAX) and Tokyo (HND)
These Tokyo flights are both routes that are currently operated by Boeing 787-9s, so this change primarily represents a premium cabin capacity increase, of up to 45%.
Here’s how Brian Znotis, American’s SVP of Network and Schedule Planning, describes these route updates:
“Customers continue to tell us that Europe is where they want to go each summer and these new routes make it even easier to cross the Atlantic in 2026. We are excited to grow our network to new destinations like Prague and Budapest and offer even more premium travel experiences on our flights to Tokyo.”
My take on American’s long haul expansion
American’s expansion for next summer is quite limited, as you’d expect, given how capacity constrained American is. Yes, the airline is taking delivery of new premium Boeing 787-9s, but aside from that, the Airbus A321XLRs are delayed, and it’s anyone’s guess when they enter service.
I don’t think there’s anything all that surprising here, though a few thoughts:
- The Dallas to Athens route is the only completely new route here, and Dallas will be the fifth gateway out of which American serves Athens
- The Dallas to Zurich route is primarily targeted at soccer fans (given the FIFA World Cup being held in the United States next year), and that route was last operated in 2007
- As of now, American is expected to be the only US airline to fly to Budapest, so that’s a cool expansion, and this is a route that American last served in 2018
- American is a bit behind on serving Prague, as Delta serves the destination, and this is also a route that American last served in 2019; I have to imagine United will soon add Prague flights as well
- As someone who lives in Miami, I’m delighted to see more year-round Europe service on American out of Miami, as that seems to me like something that’s long overdue; this is also a route resumption, as this was last served in 2020
- Obviously American is really capacity constrained, but it’s interesting that there’s nothing new out of Charlotte, Chicago, or New York
Bottom line
American has announced its expansion for the summer of 2026. With this, we’ll see the airline return to both Budapest and Prague, for the first time since before the pandemic. We’ll also see the airline add seasonal flights from Dallas to Athens and Zurich, which are existing destinations from other hubs. Lastly, we’ll see the year-round flight between Miami and Milan return.
It’s always cool to see new routes, though given the slow pace at which American is taking delivery of new planes, there’s nothing too exciting here, if you ask me. I mean, we’re not talking about Greenland or Mongolia!
What do you make of American’s expansion for next summer?
CORRECTION:
AA last served BUD in 2019 (& 2018… & 2011).
For S20 they announced both daily PHL to BUD, AND 3-4x/weekly ORD to BUD!
Same happened with PRG. And ORD was also going to get KRK S20.
Why would DFW-ZRH be for the World Cup? AA has no connecting traffic in Zurich, and the Swiss aren't confirmed yet as a team. Madrid or Barcelona would make more sense because AA could get IB / Vueling connecting traffic.
FIFA is headquartered in the Zurich area and Qatar Airways/AA are the "official airlines" of the World Cup, and Dallas is supposed to be where the international broadcasters will be based for the tournament (both the Olympics and World Cup usually have a centralized IBC). So there will likely be all sorts of official traffic related to tournament organization/logistics, etc. Then from DFW, everyone can make a connection to Mexico or Canada on AA as needed too.
American is missing out by not launching JFK - BUD. Thousands from the Jewish community of NY travel to Hungary every year for pilgrimage trips.
And as always American forgets about PHX...so sick of AA as our supposed hometown airline...they're a joke and always have been.
The most long haul allergic big airline in the world...its almost like they're still America West.
I'm surprised there isn't PHX to DOH and more PHX to Asia (especially with semi conductors)
"I'm surprised there isn't PHX to DOH and more PHX to Asia"
Why? Despite a growing Taiwanese patronage, Phoenix doesn't have much overall demand to Asia at all.
As of 2023, Orlando has much higher demand, but doesn't have a single east Asian nonstop. And Vegas completely dwarfs them both (in total numbers to east Asia) but only has a single Asian carrier (Korean) whereas Phoenix will be getting two.
So really not sure what you're complaining for.
Luckily, you have HP!
Glad they brought back daily MIA-MXP.
Until Covid messed everything up, both AA and now-defunct Air Italy served the route. Pretty solid evidence that there's sufficient demand to fill a 787-8.
I guess the question is what routes are these planes coming off of to work the new routes? Are 787-8's being freed up by the new 787-9 deliveries?
Chicago to London was a B787-8 route before the B787-9p replaced some flights
Still no Manchester - Ben, do you think it's realistic that MAN will ever be served again by any US carrier, or are those days over? Could the A321XLR change this?
Aer Lingus serves it I think. American could do a codeshare. But AA metal unlikely. Best bet is probably United from Newark.
AA has mentioned that it plans to add MAN likely from either ORD or PHL with the A321XLR - it's important to note that this announcement only mentioned the B787-8's primarily which is likely the result of the new B787-9Ps coming into service (5 already delivered (1 scheduled for tmrw) with the expectation of 11 total this year). I would think it is likely AA metal will serve MAN at least from one destination on...
AA has mentioned that it plans to add MAN likely from either ORD or PHL with the A321XLR - it's important to note that this announcement only mentioned the B787-8's primarily which is likely the result of the new B787-9Ps coming into service (5 already delivered (1 scheduled for tmrw) with the expectation of 11 total this year). I would think it is likely AA metal will serve MAN at least from one destination on the XLR - UA has also mentioned interest in this.
AA expects 5 A321XLRs this year (has one already delivered in storage) and ~15-20 next year, but given the seat constraints there was no announcement likely due to uncertainties on when these could come into service. There may be a second announcement later this fall when there is more certainty.
The real issue is whether all of the changes to US law esp. regarding visitors will make a lot of summer seasonal routes no longer viable; airlines indicated that the second half of the summer for international is softer because of weaker inbound US demand. Many international routes just don't work on US outbound demand which peaks in the first half of the summer. The weaker dollar impacts some American's ability to travel.
The 787-8...
The real issue is whether all of the changes to US law esp. regarding visitors will make a lot of summer seasonal routes no longer viable; airlines indicated that the second half of the summer for international is softer because of weaker inbound US demand. Many international routes just don't work on US outbound demand which peaks in the first half of the summer. The weaker dollar impacts some American's ability to travel.
The 787-8 is AA's go-to airplane for new markets but it is an expensive aircraft on a CASM basis. and AA still makes routes work from DFW even though it misses half of the country depending on whether the route is to Europe or Asia.
Good to see Tokyo demand is strong; they have had several capacity increases. The US-Japan market is very different than it was pre-covid.
I think equally concerning is the lack of announcements around seasonal flights that would cater to the World Cup next year hosted in the U.S. Is demand really expected to be that soft in the future?
In the press release AA mentioned that the DFW-ZRH addition and DFW-EZE service in the summer is specifically for the World Cup. In addition AA is adding a MIA-EZE frequency to 3x daily.
I'm sure we will see more additions / charters as we get closer to the WC as well as similar additions from DL and UA.
"I think equally concerning is the lack of announcements around seasonal flights that would cater to the World Cup next year hosted in the U.S."
Wait, what?
No airline is going to make an entire schedule around a 30-something day sporting season. That hasn't happened before, so I don't know why you find it "concerning" now. They'll do like they ALWAYS do for World Cups, Olympics, Super Bowls, etc, and announce a few select...
"I think equally concerning is the lack of announcements around seasonal flights that would cater to the World Cup next year hosted in the U.S."
Wait, what?
No airline is going to make an entire schedule around a 30-something day sporting season. That hasn't happened before, so I don't know why you find it "concerning" now. They'll do like they ALWAYS do for World Cups, Olympics, Super Bowls, etc, and announce a few select charters, at a relative short time before each game commences.
These are all ESTA eligible destinations. And in any event I expect most of the passengers to be American tourists.
I am a bit surprised at the route announcements at this stage. I was under the impression demand was softening. Maybe not to Europe?
People who go to Budapest in the summer are idiots. I live not-too-far-away and I use all my available time and money to go up north in the summer to escape the unbearable heat. This year is relatively mild but I wouldn't count on it continuing into the future. Prague is a little better but not much, I remember spending basically entire week outdoors and in the parks (which are nice but not worth TATL...
People who go to Budapest in the summer are idiots. I live not-too-far-away and I use all my available time and money to go up north in the summer to escape the unbearable heat. This year is relatively mild but I wouldn't count on it continuing into the future. Prague is a little better but not much, I remember spending basically entire week outdoors and in the parks (which are nice but not worth TATL travel) in the summer of 2020 because it was too hot for anything else.
Agreed, was there last June and the heat was brutal.
It is interesting (with Budapest and Prague getting flights) that none of the US airlines yet serves Warsaw in Poland. There are direct flights to the US, by just LOT Polish Airlines (I believe UA might code-share them too but nothing beyond that!)
Polish aviation market is a bit different. Intra-European travel is pretty much dominated by Ryanair and Wizzair who for all intents and purposes are the dominant airlines of Poland. Outside of the EU, the Polish US market is pretty much tapped up with the combination of LOT already serving New York and Chicago direct Warsaw and Krakow as well as Lufthansa and KLM essentially grabbing up the remaining traffic with flights to just about every...
Polish aviation market is a bit different. Intra-European travel is pretty much dominated by Ryanair and Wizzair who for all intents and purposes are the dominant airlines of Poland. Outside of the EU, the Polish US market is pretty much tapped up with the combination of LOT already serving New York and Chicago direct Warsaw and Krakow as well as Lufthansa and KLM essentially grabbing up the remaining traffic with flights to just about every largish secondary Polish city (think Poznan, Wroclaw etc).
Equally even though LOT is in Star Alliance there’s no longer a codeshare with United.
Should also mention Warsaw airport is at capacity and has been for some time. Until the airport is expanded which won’t be ready until 2029 and/or the new airport is Baranow is built, there’s not much room for more major expansions
American Airlines: connecting middle America to cruise and other tourist destinations via Dallas.
There’s nothing like a Jet2 holiday!
Exactly. Just flew AMS-DFW and let’s just say the pax were very different than what I typically see out of JFK and LAX…
Yes to Budapest!!
As much as people want to argue, this shows again that American not competing at JFK is a choice they are making, not something that is forced upon them by slots, market structure, or whatever. Maybe they believe they can make more profits by allocating these flights to other gateways. But American could clearly make a better go at JFK if they wanted to - they just don’t.
Do they have the slots? Surely they could cut back on some of the ones from US cities to international ones, but not sure what their slots look like.
According to yoloswag earlier in the comments, they have a dozen unused JFK slots.
Yes, I believe AA flies 80 something flights during its peak periods. However, AA has 105 slot pairs, meaning that it could operate something like 20 more flights if they wanted to. Instead, they are already flying random low yield regional flights to squat on whatever slots they can.
AA seemingly has no idea what they want to do in JFK. NYLON is the only route AA is competitive on.
I was there recently and it looked like in the evening that all the gates were full on the main concourse. Maybe it’s not always like that, but looking at the carriers at the terminal, the evening looks pretty full. My guess is that while AA may have slots (haven’t checked schedule), it doesn’t have gates for widebody aircraft during the peak time. From there, it may be that unless AA is going to do...
I was there recently and it looked like in the evening that all the gates were full on the main concourse. Maybe it’s not always like that, but looking at the carriers at the terminal, the evening looks pretty full. My guess is that while AA may have slots (haven’t checked schedule), it doesn’t have gates for widebody aircraft during the peak time. From there, it may be that unless AA is going to do off-peak Europe or Asia morning flying, the XLR is really the only way AA can expand long haul at JFK.
Idk if CLT can take much more widebody flying. I suspect we won't see any XLR routes announced until summer 27 routes are announced.
The airport is in bad need of a new terminal or rennovation. Etihad is making it work but I think the time is less than ideal.
"The airport is in bad need of a new terminal or rennovation."
AA has to be very careful there. Charlotte is what it is, because it routinely has the lowest cost-per-enplanement of any major hub in the US. It also has (by far) the highest ratio of transfer passengers to origin passengers.
Construction can suddenly drive Charlotte's enplanement costs way up, both by increases fees/costs to pay for it, and by creating gate scarcity that...
"The airport is in bad need of a new terminal or rennovation."
AA has to be very careful there. Charlotte is what it is, because it routinely has the lowest cost-per-enplanement of any major hub in the US. It also has (by far) the highest ratio of transfer passengers to origin passengers.
Construction can suddenly drive Charlotte's enplanement costs way up, both by increases fees/costs to pay for it, and by creating gate scarcity that limits AA's ability to ram the hordes through it. The two combined can very easily upset the balance on an airport with relatively low origin passengers, making it more cost-efficient to route those passengers elsewhere, and creating a snowball effect where it costs more and more to service the origin passengers that the airport does have.
That's why both American and Charlotte's airport authority are so reluctant to change or renovate anything, despite knowing that the airport has been in need of it for so many years.
Exhausting. They continue to half ass every major market they need to stop from sinking.
Hah! By the end of September, I will have flown to all 5 cities in 2025. None with AA. :)
Shitty seats lousy service what’s not to like?
It’s a shame JFK is not growing. Was hoping to at least see the HND flight go back to the 777-200. Perhaps waiting on the 321XLR for JFK-Europe growth. I was on the JFK-BUD inaugural on the 767. LHR connections are getting old.
Especially given the time it takes to connect thru LHR which is often getting on a bus from your flight, getting on another bus to go to another terminal, and then going thru security. With a little delay it makes the connection a pain
I get their constrained, but would like to see better international strategy out of ORD, CLT, and JFK for AA
ORD, they just lost a bunch of gates to UA. I think clawing back takes time.
CLT is CLT. I think they just need to put a few dots on the map, and it'll make some money. I'm guessing the aircraft or CLT capacity constraints are the problem here.
JFK should have opportunity. I read that they have something like a dozen or two unused JFK slot pairs.
Are they fighting back for those slots vs UA? I thought I read AA thinks they shouldn't have lost them (who knows who is right)