Now, there’s more to come — and it's good news for travelers with Italy on their mind.
Late next spring, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier will launch new nonstop flights to Venice and Naples, two highly popular Italian vacation destinations.
American will also bump up the start date for two previously announced seasonal routes to Rome, upping its capacity to Italy to make summer 2025 its largest-ever season flying to the country.
Together, this new service will give travelers additional options for getting to Naples, claimed by some to be the birthplace of pizza, and Venice, with its iconic canals and world-famous hotels.
The thinking behidn boosting service to Italy was quite simple, suggested Brian Znotins, American’s senior vice president of network and schedule planning, when speaking to TPG in an exclusive interview this week.
“Our expectations continue to be exceeded in Southern Europe,” Znotins said.
It's not just American. The "Big Three" U.S. airlines (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines) will fly a staggering 54% more total seats to Italy in 2024 versus 2019, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
American’s new Italy routes for 2025
American’s two new summer seasonal Italy routes are as follows:
| Route | Start date | Aircraft type |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Naples International Airport (NAP) in Italy | May 6 | Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner |
| Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) in Italy | June 5 | Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner |
Adding a Chicago connection to Naples will give Italy’s third-largest city its second nonstop American flight — on top of existing service from Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, there’s a bit of “addition by subtraction” in the new Dallas nonstop to Venice. American is shifting its seasonal summer Venice route from its existing Chicago origin to its large Texas hub, Znotins said, meaning Chicago travelers will have easier access to the Amalfi Coast than the banks of the Adriatic.
Earlier Italy service added
Additionally, American made two tweaks to its existing summer Italy flights. Its planned new seasonal nonstop from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) will begin June 5 instead of in July, as previously planned.
It will do the same with its second seasonal daily nonstop flight from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to FCO.
Tickets for all of these flights will enter American’s booking channels Nov. 4.
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A silver lining in supply chain delays
Ironically, it’s airline industry supply chain delays that made these new Italy flights possible for American, Znotins noted.
Last week, the carrier revealed a hang-up in retrofit plans for its four-cabin Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the largest aircraft in its fleet.
Those 20 jets are slated for interior face-lifts, which include removing the Flagship First pods in favor of a higher total number of premium business-class seats.
But those plans are now delayed, American CEO Robert Isom revealed during the company's third-quarter earnings call last week. He cited backlogs at American's suppliers as the cause of the delay. The first Boeing 777-300ER now likely won't go in for a refit until the tail end of summer, Isom told analysts.
“We had planned to have a number of 777-300s in the hanger next summer,” Znotins added to TPG. “With the delay happening now, those planes won’t be in the hanger like they were supposed to be.”
That means American can keep more of its 304-seat jets in service next summer, freeing up wide-body planes to fly customers across the Atlantic during the peak summer months.
So, in the meantime, the silver lining for customers is more service to Italy — and, of course, a bit longer life for the Flagship First cabin.
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