American Airlines adds 2 new NYC routes, boosts 15 others in latest pandemic move
Quick summary
American Airlines is doubling down on New York.
Over the weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline added two brand-new routes, boosted by the carrier's nascent partnership with JetBlue, per Cirium schedules and confirmed by the carrier.
New York gets a boost
Specifically, American is adding seasonal daily service as follows:
- New York-LaGuardia (LGA) — Hilton Head, South Carolina (HHH) from June 3 to Aug. 13
- New York-JFK — Jackson, Wyoming (JAC) from June 3 to Sept. 7
The LGA route will be operated by American Eagle partner Republic Airways with a 76-seat Embraer 175 with 12 first-class seats and 64 in coach. The JFK flight will be operated by American itself using a 128-seat Airbus A319.
American confirmed that these routes will be included as part of the carrier's new Northeast-focused partnership with JetBlue, which launched on Feb. 25 with 80 codeshares and 33 new routes.
The tie-up is intended to fuel growth from New York and Boston. For now, the network expansion has largely focused on domestic destinations for both airlines, but American's long-haul ambitions include upcoming flights from JFK to Athens (ATH), Santiago (SCL), Rio de Janeiro (GIG) and Tel Aviv (TLV).
Additionally, the carriers are coordinating schedules in over 15 domestic markets, including the ultra-competitive New York (JFK and Newark) to Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) transcons.
The two newest routes fit into the overall strategy of growing domestically from NYC. American will also launch a new Boston (BOS) to JAC flight in June, just two days after it begins service from JFK.
More broadly, the new service aligns with the pandemic-era network adjustments we've seen throughout the last year. With leisure travel recovering quite quickly, airlines are pivoting to outdoor-friendly destinations, like Jackson Hole and Hilton Head.
Related: 8 things you should know about the new American Airlines-JetBlue partnership
Take me to the great outdoors
That's not all. American is gearing up for a busy domestic travel season that's largely focused on cities with plenty of pandemic-friendly activities, like hiking in national parks or the beaches along the Atlantic seaboard.
Over the weekend, AA added a slew of frequencies to some of the country's top outdoor spots.
This includes seven routes that are going from once or twice weekly to daily service from June through August, as follows:
- Charlotte (CLT) — Kalispell, Montana (FCA)
- Chicago (ORD) — Asheville, North Carolina (AVL)
- Chicago (ORD) — Destin-Fort Walton Beach (VPS)
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — Portland, Maine (PWM)
- New York (LGA) — Key West (EYW)
- Philadelphia (PHL) — Bozeman, Montana (BZN)
- Philadelphia (PHL) — Panama City, Florida (ECP)
American also will increase service on eight routes that were already planned for daily flights, but will now get even more service from June 3 through Sept. 7, as follows:
| Origin | Destination | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte (CLT) | Salt Lake City (SLC) | From 1x to 2x daily |
| Chicago (ORD) | Key West (EYW) | From 1x to 2x daily |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | Asheville, North Carolina (AVL) | From 2x to 3x daily |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (MYR) | From 1x to 2x daily |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | Tampa (TPA) | From 7x to 8x daily |
| Phoenix (PHX) | Tampa (TPA) | From 1x to 2x daily |
| Washington National (DCA) | Key West (EYW) | From 1x to 2x daily |
| Washington National (DCA) | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (MYR) | From 1x to 2x daily |
This latest pandemic-era route-map shakeup comes as travelers are taking to the skies once again. The TSA is screening well above a million passengers a day, and the pace of vaccinations is increasing nationwide.
In an SEC filing on March 29, American said that its seven-day moving average of net bookings is approximately 90% of the level experienced in 2019, with a domestic load factor of approximately 80% during that same period.
American "expects this strength in bookings to continue through the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter."