American Airlines is bolstering its Miami hub with a new nonstop flight from Miami to Tel Aviv and growing Central American service with a new flight to Paramaribo. The flights to Tel Aviv will begin in June will Miami to Paramaribo flights will start in July. These two flights are just part of a large network expansion from American Airlines that will target high-demand leisure routes and expand the strength of the carrier’s connecting hubs.
American Airlines to add new Miami to Tel Aviv flight
From June 4th, American Airlines will fly three times a week from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV). American Airlines will use a Boeing 777-200ER to serve the route. The schedule for the flight is as follows (all times local):
- MIA to TLV departing on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays departs at 20:00 and arrives at 15:10 (+1 day)
- TLV to MIA departs on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 23:55 and arrives at 06:25 (+1 day)
The Boeing 777-200ER operating this route is in a three-class configuration, seating 273 passengers. This includes 37 in lie-flat Flagship Business, 24 in Premium Economy, 66 in Main Cabin Extra, and 146 in Main Cabin. For flights to Israel, American Airlines will also offer Kosher meals for pre-order, and the airline will be serving kosher wine onboard the aircraft.
American Airlines will compete against El Al, which flies a Boeing 787 between Miami and Tel Aviv.
Brian Znotins, American’s Vice President of Network Planning, stated the following on the new route launches:
“American has always been the biggest and best in Miami with more flights to more places than any other carrier, and as demand recovers, we’ll be even bigger and better than ever before. Our new service to Tel Aviv and Paramaribo are the start of further growth in Miami, and as the city grows and expands, American will do the same.”
New flights to Suriname
American Airlines has an enviable portfolio of Latin American routes out of its hub at MIA. Starting in July, the airline will be growing that portfolio to include five-times-weekly service on an Airbus A319 from Miami to Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM) in Paramaribo, Suriname. Suriname will become the ninth country American services in South America. This route will operate with the following schedule (all times are local):
- MIA to PBM departs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 17:30 and arrives at 23:30
- PBM to MIA departs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 01:45 and arrives at 05:05
American Airlines will use a 128-seat Airbus A319 on the route. This includes eight first class seats, 24 extra-legroom economy seats, and 96 standard economy seats.
Additional expansion out of Miami
American Airlines is relying on its strength in Miami and will be increasing more frequencies and capacity on routes to the Caribbean from Miami. For example, starting in April, American Airlines will increase to a whopping five daily flights between Miami and Port-au-Prince (PAP), Haiti. Schedules through the end of May show some flights being operated with a Boeing 787-8.
In addition, starting April 2nd, American will return to the Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Port-au-Prince market. It previously served this route until late-2018.
Santiago (STI) and Santo Domingo (SDQ) in the Dominican Republic will increase to four and seven daily flights, respectively.
Other Latin American markets that saw expanded Boeing 787-8 service in 2020 will continue to see service in 2021. This includes:
- Bogota (BOG)
- Medellin (MDE)
- Cali (CLO)
- Guayaquil (GYE)
- Quito (UIO)
- Lima (LIM)
- Santiago (SCL)
There will also be domestic growth out of Miami with new flights to Clinton National Airport (LIT) in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Portland International Jetwport (PWM) in Maine. Both flights will operate once-per-week on Saturdays using Embraer E175s The schedule for those flights is as follows (all times local):
- MIA to LIT departs at 19:40 and arrives at 21:15 starting on June 5th
- LIT to MIA departs at 06:00 and arrives at 09:45 starting on June 5th
- MIA to PWM departs at 10:25 and arrives at 13:45 starting on June 5th
- PWM to MIA departs at 14:30 and arrives at 17:59 starting on June 5th
Juan Carlos Liscano, American’s Vice President of Operations for Miami, the Caribbean, and Latin America, stated the following:
“Since establishing our Miami hub in 1989, American’s commitment to our community and to our team has not wavered. Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to strengthen our capacity in Miami to match demand in Latin America and the Caribbean. With new international destinations launching this year — Tel Aviv and Suriname — two new domestic destinations — Little Rock and Portland — and additional flights to key destinations in the Caribbean, we look forward to further deepening our ties to Miami.”
All-in-all, American will increase its capacity to Latin America and the Caribbean by 16%, compared to 2019, this summer. This comes as the airline upgauges flights and adds more services. Capacity in Colombia and Peru will double, while Ecuador will see a greater than 50% increase in capacity. Central America overall will see 24% more service. These increases are in comparison to American’s summer 2019 schedules.
More flights from Charlotte, Dallas, and Los Angeles
Charlotte, Dallas, and Los Angeles are all getting new nonstop services to Central America and the Caribbean. Charlotte is getting a new seasonal service operating twice-per-week from its hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to Samaná’s El Catey International Airport (AZS). Samaná is a new destination for American Airlines and will be served seasonally from June 5th through August 14th and return from winter 2021. This flight will operate twice per week using an Embraer E175 with the following schedule (all times are local):
- CLT to AZS departs on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 09:45 and arrives at 13:05 starting on June 5th
- AZS to CLT departs on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 14:00 and arrives at 17:30 starting on June 5th
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) will get summer-seasonal service from June 5th through August 14th to St. Maarten (SXM). These flights will be operated by an Airbus A319 on Saturday-only service with the following schedule (all times are local):
- DFW to SXM departs at 08:50 and arrives at 15:15 starting on June 5th
- SXM to DFW departs at 14:35 and arrives at 19:14 starting on June 5th
Dallas will also get seasonal service starting from June 5th through August 14th, with returning service in winter, to St. Lucia (UVF). These flights will operate with an Airbus A321 on Saturday-only schedules starting on June 5th (all times are local):
- DFW to UVF departs at 08:40 and arrives at 15:40
- UVF to DFW departs at 14:30 and arrives at 19:22
A third nonstop summer-seasonal flight will run from Dallas to Merida (MID). This E175-operated service will run on Saturdays as well with the following schedule from June 5th (all times are local):
- DFW to MID departs at 10:55 and arrives at 13:37
- MID to DFW departs at 14:17 and arrives at 16:51
Lastly, a Saturday-only service will run between Los Angeles and Cancun using an Airbus A321 with the following schedule from June 5th (all times are local):
- LAX to CUN will depart at 08:45 and arrive at 15:36
- CUN to LAX will depart at 16:40 and arrive at 19:46
Turning to its strengths
American Airlines is expecting a much better summer 2021 compared to summer 2021. The airline believes that the market can sustain a host of new international routes as vaccinations pick up and more people get ready to step onboard an aircraft again. The new flights to Israel are a testament to the airline’s route plans.
In 2021, American Airlines will add connect three cities to Tel Aviv. All three are new routes. Towards the end of the year, American will fly between Dallas/Fort Worth and Tel Aviv. Starting in May, flights from New York to Tel Aviv will launch.
Meanwhile, the growth in services out of Miami, Charlotte, and Dallas represent these hubs’ strength. Latin America is returning much faster and stronger than transatlantic and transpacific markets as Latin American countries reopen for more travelers.
With widebodies sitting idle that would normally be deployed across the Pacific and Atlantic, rather than let them accrue dust, American is better off putting them on short- and medium-haul routes where there is demand, and it can gain some additional revenue.
For now, the carrier is gearing up to tap into some pent-up travel demand this summer with the hopes of being able to bolster its Miami hub, which has come under some threat in the last few months and assert its dominance at the airport and as the premier US airline flying from the United States to Latin America.
Are you going to fly any of these new American Airlines routes? Do you think Miami to Tel Aviv is a good idea for American Airlines to fly? Let us know in the comments!
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