American adds 2 new Caribbean routes, goes up against Delta, JetBlue

American Airlines is growing in the Caribbean with two new routes.

The Fort Worth-based carrier filed plans over the weekend to add flights from New York and Philadelphia to Bridgetown, Barbados, as first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.

New daily service from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) begins on Nov. 5, followed by once-weekly, Saturday-only flights from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) on Nov. 9. American will deploy a Boeing 737-800 from New York and an Airbus A321 from Philadelphia.

While these routes are new to the airline's schedule, both flights are technically resumptions.

Service from JFK was last operated by American in 2014, Cirium schedules show. Interestingly, US Airways used to operate flights to Barbados from Philadelphia, but those were suspended in April 2010 — three years before the merger between American and US Airways was announced.

In fact, in a nod to the airline's history of serving Barbados, American chose two special flight numbers for the New York service.

The first American Airlines flight to Barbados was on Nov. 1, 1975. It departed JFK as Flight 585, operated by a Boeing 707. So, American's new outbound flight will operate as Flight 585, and the return will operate as Flight 707.

American's new flights to Bridgetown will complement the airline's existing service to Barbados from Miami and Charlotte. "This winter, we'll operate up to three daily flights from Miami and one from CLT alongside the JFK/PHL service for up to six peak-day flights this winter – the most of any U.S. carrier," American spokesperson Jay Singh said in a statement to TPG.

While American has long been the biggest U.S. network carrier in the Caribbean, these new Barbados flights might actually be coming in response to competitive pressure from Delta Air Lines.

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Earlier this month, Delta unveiled four new routes to the Caribbean. This announcement included news that the airline would reopen its outstation in Barbados for the first time since 2017.

Delta plans daily flights from Atlanta and once-weekly flights from New York starting in November.

Of course, American's daily schedule from New York will likely have broader appeal than Delta's once-weekly service. Plus, American's four routes from the U.S. should give travelers plenty of connecting opportunities beyond its hubs in Charlotte, Miami, New York and Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, for years, JetBlue has been the biggest carrier between New York and Bridgetown. United and Caribbean Airlines both serve this market, but JetBlue's three peak daily flights offer a much more robust schedule for travelers.

JetBlue even operates some of its poshest Airbus A321s, outfitted with a 16-seat Mint business-class cabin, to Bridgetown.

With all this new competition, it'll be interesting to see what happens to fares and availabilities. Hopefully, this will be good news for travelers, who will enjoy more frequent sales than ever before.

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