American Airlines hit the pause button when launching new international long-haul routes in 2020, but the airline plans a better 2021 with new routes connecting new destinations. These are the five main new routes the airline is currently planning to launch this year.
Seattle to London Heathrow
American Airlines will fly a Boeing 777-200ER from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to London-Heathrow (LHR). The airline is expected to launch from the end of March and will launch the aworld schedule between the two cities, as British Airways operates up to two daily flights between Seattle and London.
The route is expected to thrive as the US partner, Alaska Airlines, has a massive hub from Seattle for connections. And British Airways has another major hub at Heathrow. This gives the airline a good chance to fill its aircraft.
What makes this route more interesting is that it will be a very competitive route. While American and British Airways plot one end, partners Delta and Virgin Atlantic compete on the other. Delta and Virgin will operate up to two daily nonstop flights on the route. Delta has a hub in Seattle and Virgin Atlantic has one in Heathrow.
Both partnerships could be victorious on this route. However, this does not necessarily mean that both airlines “win”. If, because of the competition, both partnerships sell seats below cost and either record losses or otherwise make a marginal profit, then it’s a lose-lose situation – even if the planes are full.
5. Dallas to Tel Aviv
American Airlines comes to Israel. As the only one of the three major US carriers not flying to Israel, the airline is betting on the strength of its Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) hub to launch flights to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV).
From the end of October, the airline will use a Boeing 787-9 to operate its long-haul flights. This route will explore whether there is enough room for all three US carriers to fly to Israel, especially given that El Al appears to be returning. United Airlines has recently expanded to Israel.
Dallas to Auckland
If there is anything to know about American Airlines, it is important to know that the airline’s largest and most successful hubs are Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). With a huge connecting hub, almost all of American’s routes from the airport are expected to do relatively well.
To test this theory, American is adding Boeing 787-9 flights to Auckland Airport (AKL) from November. This daily seasonal service will test a few different things. First, it will show how successful America’s mid-continent hub can be. The airline previously used Los Angeles as a departure point for its flights to Australia and New Zealand. Second, it would also show just how far American’s partnership with Qantas can go.
If American can sustain more of its own flights between the US and Australia or New Zealand, along with Qantas’ long-haul flights from Australia to points in the United States, then the two airlines are in really good shape. would show strength for nonstop travel to New Zealand, and change more Qantas and US flights to and from Australia to be more about connections and get more people to secondary destinations in Australia.
Seattle to Shanghai
This route from SEA to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) will be one to keep an eye on. American plans to launch this flight from March 27 on a Boeing 777-200ER, the same type of aircraft that flies to London.
China has always been a tough market for American Airlines. Previously, it did not have a mainland Chinese partner, so connections were not possible for the airline. Now, although it has China Southern, this partnership isn’t perfect. China Southern’s strength lies in Guangzhou, where Americans don’t fly. It has a significant but ultimately limited presence in Shanghai, compared to the much larger China Eastern.
American is moving its West Coast Shanghai service to Seattle from Los Angeles. The airline cannot operate both services as there are restrictions on the number of air services between the two countries.
The strength of this new service will be a real testament to the strength of the partnership between American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. If the flight from Seattle to Shanghai works, it shows that American Airlines can really call Seattle a “hub.” When it doesn’t work, it represents the ongoing struggle for US carriers to fly to China without a strong partnership.
2. Los Angeles to Christchurch
Starting in November, American Airlines will fly three times a week with a Boeing 787-8 between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Christchurch Airport (CHC). This route will be one to watch.
American Airlines never really knew what to do with Los Angeles. A short distance away is the hub at Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), where the carrier has a significant presence of operations. LAX is rife with competition, and while it has its fair share of connections, the airport is far from the size of the Charlotte, Chicago, or Miami airline hubs.
LAX has always been a major transpacific hub for American Airlines. But AA has also tried many other routes from the airport. American has ended its service from LAX to Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Beijing.
As a result, American’s long-haul operations from Los Angeles remain focused on operations to the city’s partner hubs. This includes flights to London-Heathrow, Sydney and Tokyo-Haneda.
This Christchurch service will be one to keep an eye on and, like the DFW-AKL service, indicates how strong American Airlines is in Australia and New Zealand.
1. Seattle to Bangalore
With the cake being one of a US airline’s highly anticipated 2021 routes, it will be America’s riskiest new route.
When the airline announced the flights, it would have a monopoly on non-stop routes between the US and the growing tech hub in India. Now American will have to cope with United’s nonstop operations from San Francisco to Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore, meaning American will have to rely more on nonstop departure and destination traffic from Seattle and Alaska’s hub for his plane to fill.
American previously had little success flying to India for several reasons. Now that it has a more efficient aircraft operating the route, the airline has a little more room to run this route, but it will still be a risky business.
Which of these six American Airlines routes are you most waiting for? Let us know in the comments!