American Airlines Lands in Africa, Returns to Tel Aviv Amid Transatlantic Expansion

Aug. 08, 2019

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2 min read

American Airlines Lands in Africa, Returns to Tel Aviv Amid Transatlantic Expansion

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American Airlines will begin its first-ever route to Africa and return to Tel Aviv, among five new transatlantic routes planned for 2020.

The Oneworld Alliance carrier will add five routes from its Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Philadelphia (PHL) hubs:

ORD - Budapest, Hungary (BUD): four-times weekly on a Boeing 787-8 from May 7 to Oct. 24
ORD - Krakow, Poland (KRK): five-times weekly on a 787-8 from May 7 to Oct. 23
ORD - Prague, Czech Republic (PRG): five-times weekly on a 787-8 from May 8 to Oct. 24
DFW - Tel Aviv (TLV): three-times weekly on a 787-9 year-round from Sept. 9
PHL - Casablanca, Morocco (CMN): three-times weekly on a Boeing 757-200 from June 4 to Sept. 8

Casablanca will be American's first ever destination in Africa. The airline will also be the only US carrier to the city, which is a hub for pending Oneworld alliance member Royal Air Maroc. The Moroccan airline is due to become a full alliance member in 2020.

American passengers will be able to connect to at least 30 Royal Air Maroc destinations in Africa unserved by other Oneworld member airlines over Casablanca. Cities include Abidjan (ABJ) in Ivory Coast, Bamako (BKO) in Mali, and Cotonou (COO) in Benin, according to Diio by Cirium schedule data.

Royal Air Maroc serves Boston (BOS), Miami (MIA), New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Washington Dulles (IAD) from Casablanca, the Diio data shows.

American's new Tel Aviv flight comes four years after it ended service to the Israeli city from Philadelphia in January 2016. The airline said in a statement that demand to Tel Aviv "continues to grow" as one of its reasons for returning to the airport.

The new Budapest and Prague flights complement seasonal service that American launched from Philadelphia this year. Krakow is a new destination for the carrier.

American will compete with LOT Polish Airlines between Chicago and both Budapest and Krakow, according to Diio schedules.

Featured image by NurPhoto via Getty Images