Compared to its legacy rivals, such as Delta and United, American Airlines has been bullish on rebuilding its route network, flying around 55% of its seat capacity compared to a year ago, and a renewed focus on its hubs. One of those hubs, Miami International Airport, will receive a lion’s share of the lion’s attention in the coming months as the carrier has just unveiled a slate of new routes from the airport. The news makes sense on several levels. Miami is an ideal location city for funnel traffic from the southern and western U.S. both across the Atlantic and to the Caribbean and South America. As a destination in itself, the Miami area (and of course, the rest of Florida) has benefited from the travel public’s interest in sunny destinations with outdoor activities that don’t require a passport – not to mention. referring to travel requirements that are heavy and constantly changing – to arrive. .
American Airlines is launching plenty of new flights out of their Miami base. (Photo by DANIEL SLIM / AFP … [+]
AFP through Getty Images
International Interest
Among the most exciting routes announced by American Airlines in its latest release is a new service from Miami to Tel Aviv, which will launch three times a week starting June 4. This follows news similar to the carrier about novel services from two of its other hubs, Dallas -Ft. Worth, which will start in October, and New York JFK to Tel Aviv, which will start flying in the summer. Tel Aviv has been growing interest in airlines with Israel’s success at the recent Covid-19 vaccine release, indicating that the country could be a major holiday destination for people looking for virus relief. At New York JFK, in particular, America’s new partnership with JetBlue will enable connections with the rest of the U.S.
In July, American Airlines became the first U.S. airline to fly non-stop to Paramaribo in Suriname. The service operates five times a week aboard a single-axle Airbus A319. If that raises some eyes, it seems to be an expansion of the interest of American carriers in a new “diaspora travel” that hopes to take advantage of U.S. citizens and residents returning to the countries of origin. to visit family and friends after the locks and restraints are locked. of the pandemic.
Among the shortest international routes that travelers should see more traffic out of Miami are those to Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, which take up to four and seven daily trips, respectively. , and a frequency to Port-au-Prince in Haiti, which goes up to five times a day starting in April.
Twelve destinations in Latin America will experience an increase in frequency in the summer compared even to pre-pandemic levels from 2019. More options are expected to Bogota, Cali, and Medellin in Colombia; Guayaquil and Quito in Ecuador; Lima, Peru; and Santiago in Chile. America will bring some of the broad-based Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner companies to Miami to implement these services. Colombia and Peru, in particular, will get twice their current capacity, while Ecuador will see a 50% jump.
Commenting on the proposals, American Airlines vice president for Miami, the Caribbean and Latin America, Juan Carlos Liscano, said, “Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to strengthen our capability in Miami to meet demand in Latin America and the Caribbean. With new international destinations launching this year, Tel Aviv and Suriname… and additional flights to major Caribbean destinations, we look forward to deepening our connections to Miami. ” All said, the airline will have about 16% more capacity to the entire region from Miami this summer compared to 2019.
Domestic management
The growth of American Airlines is not limited to its international network, however. For the first time, the airline will operate weekly (Saturday) flights during the summer from Miami to both Little Rock, Arkansas, and Portland, Maine, from June 5 through August 16.
Holidays can look out for new seasonal flights from Dallas-Ft. It is worth to Merida in Mexico, and both St. Maarten and St. Lucia in the Caribbean, while Charlotte sees Samana in the Dominican Republic, as well as non-stop stops from Los Angeles to Cancun, all starting in early June.
Overall, these moves are ambitious and aggressive. “America has always been the biggest and best in Miami with more trips to more places than any other carrier,” said Brian Znotins, America’s vice president of network design. “As demand goes back, we will be even bigger and better than ever. ”
Having the opportunity to reaffirm its leadership out of Miami and shift its activity to sunny-filled recreation areas as well as diaspora destinations further afield, American Airlines is promising the improvements that network to set it to recover after a pandemic. Time will tell if that bet pays off.