American Airlines Adds 7 New Summertime Routes to Montana and Alaska
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
American Airlines is betting big on Alaska and Montana for next year’s summer schedule, announcing seven total new routes to the states.
The routes — all seasonal — will be spread across five of American’s hubs and targeted toward outdoor travelers and enthusiasts of national parks.
“National parks are a huge attraction for many families,” Vasu Raja, American’s Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning, said in a statement. “This summer, we launched three new flights to Glacier National Park in Kalispell, and, next summer, we’re expanding with more service to discover the natural wonders.”
Chicago O’Hare (ORD) is getting two of the seasonal routes, with daily service to the Alaska cities of Anchorage (ANC) and Fairbanks (FAI). Each of the Alaska airports are close to park offerings in that state, too.
Related: Choosing the Best Credit Card for American Airlines Flyers
Another two of the seven new routes will come from New York LaGuardia (LGA), and they’re perhaps the most interesting additions of the bunch. From LGA, American will add Saturday-only service to the Montana cities of Bozeman (BZN) and Kalispell/Glacier National Park (FCA).
Normally,those routes would not be permissible at LaGuardia, which is governed by a “perimeter rule” that bars airlines from flights of more than 1,500 miles to and from the airport. There are two exceptions, however. Flights to Denver are exempted, as Denver was grandfathered in during the rule-making process. Also exempted are flights on Saturdays. Accordingly, both of American’s Montana flights from LGA — Kalispell at 2,035 miles and Bozeman at 1,894 miles — will fly only on Saturdays.
Three of American’s other hubs – Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX) and Philadelphia (PHL) – are each getting one of the seasonal routes.
American also will fly bigger aircraft on two of its existing seasonal routes to Kalispell/Glacier National Park, a destination American first began flying to this summer. In next summer’s schedule, American will move from 76-seat Embraer E175s to 160-seat Boeing 737-800s for its flights to Kalispell from Chicago O’Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth. The carrier said it is making the move “based on the success of this year’s new service.”
Related: American Airlines’ Phoenix Hub is Still Growing; Carrier Adds 3 New Routes
With the new routes, American says it will offer a combined 17 routes to Alaska and Montana in its 2020 summer schedule.
The full schedule of the new seasonal routes is below.
ALASKA FLIGHTS
Dallas/Fort Worth-Fairbanks
Daily service on Airbus A321 aircraft. Begins May 7 and runs through Oct. 6.
Chicago O’Hare-Fairbanks
Daily service on Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Begins May 7 and runs through Oct. 6.
Chicago O’Hare-Anchorage
Daily service on Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Begins May 7 and runs through Oct. 6.
Related: Snapshot: A Look at American Airlines by the Numbers
MONTANA FLIGHTS
Philadelphia-Bozeman
Saturday-only service on Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Begins June 6 and runs through Sept. 5
Los Angeles-Bozeman
Daily service on Embraer E175 aircraft. Begins June 4 and runs through Sept. 8.
New York LaGuardia-Bozeman
Saturday-only service on Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Begins June 6 and runs through Sept. 5.
New York LaGuardia-Kalispell
Saturday-only service on Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Begins June 6 and runs through Sept. 5.
Featured image by Scott Olson/Getty Images.
Related: An MD-80? The Truth Behind This Tiny American Airlines ‘Plane’ Parked at O’Hare
WELCOME OFFER: 80,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,600
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 in combined spending on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines.
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year
- Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases–with no limit to the amount you can earn
- Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Redeem points for travel, cash back, gift cards and more – your points don't expire as long as your account is open
- No foreign transaction fees
- Employee cards at no additional cost
- $95 Annual Fee
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.