American Airlines adds 4 LaGuardia routes, cuts 7 in effort to woo New York fliers

American Airlines is shaking up its route map at New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to better compete in the Big Apple.

The changes include four new routes, including one that will see the Oneworld alliance carrier return to the New York-Atlanta market — a route it last flew in 2023. American also will add new service from LGA to Madison, Wisconsin, and Fort Lauderdale beginning in September. The fourth new route will come in Charleston, South Carolina, where American will convert its seasonal service to year-round and add additional flights to the schedule.

American will also add additional flights on its existing schedules this winter to Burlington, Vermont; Columbia, South Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Fayetteville in northwest Arkansas; Greensboro, North Carolina; Indianapolis; Pittsburgh; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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However, the added routes and additional flights will come come at the expense of seven routes from LaGuardia. American will cut its current LGA service to Cincinnati and Dayton in Ohio; Knoxville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; Minneapolis; Omaha, Nebraska; and Sarasota, Florida, a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson described the changes at LaGuardia as "reoptimizing" the airline's slot portfolio at the airport to better serve New Yorkers.

"In New York, we have a large and loyal customer base, significant AAdvantage penetration, significant co-brand [credit card] penetration, and we're excited about the evolving position that we're creating," said Steve Johnson, American's chief strategy officer, during its quarterly earnings call in April. "LaGuardia will be the largest, I think, operation that we've had in history. We've optimized it, we think, for our New York customers."

Of the top five destinations for local travelers — or ones not connecting to another flight — from LaGuardia in 2024, Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale are the only two that American does not serve, U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data shows.

Adding flights on these key routes could bolster American's attractiveness to local New York fliers.

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Both Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale are served nonstop from LaGuardia by Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines, schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows. Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines also fly the LaGuardia-Atlanta route.

American pulled back in New York under its alliance with JetBlue that ended in 2023. Since then, the airline has slowly built back its flight offerings at JFK International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia.

And while American and JetBlue were understood to be in talks over a potentially renewed alliance, the former disclosed Monday that those talks were over and it was suing the latter for at least $1 million related to the end of their previous pact.

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American will compete with Delta on both the New York-Charleston and New York-Madison routes, as well as Spirit on the former, Cirium schedules show.

Below are American's additions at LaGuardia this winter:

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): Six daily flights beginning Sept. 3.
• Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) in Vermont: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 3 through April 5, 2026.
• Charleston International Airport (CHS) in South Carolina: Two daily flights beginning Sept. 3, and three daily flights from Nov. 2.
• Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) in South Carolina: Increase to two daily flights from one on Sept. 3.
• John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) in Ohio: Increase to five daily flights from four on Sept. 3.
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW): Increase to four daily flights from three on Sept. 3.
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL): Two daily flights beginning Nov. 2.
• Greensboro's Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in North Carolina: Increase to four daily flights from three on Sept. 3.
• Indianapolis International Airport (IND): Increase to five daily flights from four on Sept. 3.
• Madison's Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) in Wisconsin: One daily flight beginning Sept. 3.
• Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA): Increase to three daily flights from two on Sept. 3.
• Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT): Increase to five daily flights from four on Sept. 3.
• Tulsa International Airport (TUL): Increase to two daily flights from one on Sept. 3.

Related reading:

• Your ultimate guide to American Airlines AAdvantage
• Best credit cards for American Airlines flyers
• American Airlines elite status: What it is and how to earn it
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• American Airlines basic economy: What you need to know about bags, seats, boarding and more