American Airlines pressed the pause button in 2020 to launch new international long-haul routes, but the airline plans for a better 2021 with new routes connecting new destinations. Here are the five most important new routes the airline is currently planning to launch this year.
6. 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 currently expected to start at the end of March oneworld schedule between the two cities, as British Airways operates up to two daily flights between Seattle and London.
The route is expected to fare well, as American’s partner, Alaska Airlines, has a large downtown Seattle center for connections. And British Airways has another big hub at Heathrow. This will properly enable the airline to fill its aircraft.
What makes this route more interesting is that it will be very competitive. With US and British Airways sticking out on one side, partners Delta and Virgin Atlantic are competing on the other. Delta and Virgin fly up to two daily direct flights on the route. Delta has a hub in Seattle, and Virgin Atlantic has one in Heathrow.
Both partnerships can win on this route. However, this does not necessarily mean that both airlines ‘win’. If both partnerships sell seats below cost or incur losses or otherwise make a marginal profit due to the competition, it is a loss-losing situation – even if the planes go full.
5. Dallas and Tel Aviv
American Airlines is coming to Israel. As the only one of the three major US airlines not flying to Israel, the airline is betting on the strength of its Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to launch flights to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv.
From the end of October, the airline will use a Boeing 787-9 to operate the long-haul flights. This route will investigate whether there is enough space for all three US airlines to fly to Israel, especially given how El Al looks to return. United Airlines recently expanded into Israel.
4. Dallas to Auckland
If there is anything to learn about American Airlines, it is important to know that the largest and most successful hub of the airline is Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). With a huge connection center, almost any of the US routes from the airport are expected to fare relatively well.
To test this theory, American is adding Boeing 787-9 flights to Auckland Airport (AKL) from November. This daily seasonal service tests a few different things. First, it will show how successful American’s mid-continent center 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 the extent to which American’s partnership with Qantas can stretch.
If Americans can sustain more of their own flights between the US and Australia or New Zealand, along with Qantas’ long-haul flights to Australia to points in the United States, the two airlines are really in good shape as it will show strength for uninterrupted travel to New Zealand, and turning more Qantas and American flights to and from Australia to focus more on connections, and to bring more people to secondary destinations in Australia.
Seattle to Shanghai
This route from SEA to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) will be viewed. American plans to launch this flight from March 27 with a Boeing 777-200ER, the same type of aircraft flying to London.
China has always been a tough market for American Airlines. Previously, he did not have a Chinese partner on the mainland, so connections were not possible for the airline. Although it has China Southern, this partnership is not perfect. China Southern’s power is outside Guangzhou, where the Americans do not fly. It has a substantial but ultimately limited presence from Shanghai, compared to the much larger China East.
American is moving its West Coast Shanghai service from Los Angeles to Seattle. The airline cannot operate both services because there are restrictions on the number of airlines between the two countries.
The power of this new service will be a true testament to the strength of the American Airlines and Alaska Airlines partnership. If the flight from Seattle to Shanghai works, it shows that American Airlines can really call Seattle a ‘hub’. If that does not work, it represents an ongoing battle for US airlines to fly to China without a strong partnership.
2. Los Angeles and Christchurch
From November, American Airlines will fly a Boeing 787-8 three times a week between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Christchurch Airport (CHC). This route is going to be one to look at.
American Airlines has never really known what to do with Los Angeles. Downtown Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is only a short distance away, where the carrier is very busy. LAX is full of competition, and although it has a decent number of connections, the airport is far from the size of the airlines in Charlotte, Chicago or Miami.
LAX has always been a major transportation hub for American Airlines. But AA also tried many other routes from the airport. American ended its service from LAX to Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Beijing.
This, in fact, leaves American’s long-term operations in Los Angeles with its partners away from the city. These include flights to London-Heathrow, Sydney and Tokyo-Haneda.
This Christchurch service will be tracked, and like the DFW-AKL service, indicates how strong American Airlines is in Australia and New Zealand.
1. Seattle to Bangalore
If we take the cake as one of the most popular routes for 2021 from an American carrier, it will be the American’s most risky new route.
When the carrier announces the flights, it will have a monopoly on uninterrupted routes between the US and the growing technology center in India. Americans will now have to struggle with United’s uninterrupted operations from San Francisco to Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore, meaning America will have to rely more on the uninterrupted origins and destination traffic from Seattle and Alaska’s hubs to fill its plane.
American has not had much success flying to India in the past for several reasons. Now that there is a more efficient aircraft operating the route, the airline has a little more room to operate this route, but it will still be a risky endeavor.
On which of these six routes do you expect the most from American Airlines? Let us know in the comments!