American Airlines' Phoenix Hub is Still Growing; Carrier Adds 3 New Routes
American Airlines will add new seasonal service from its Phoenix hub to two cities in the US heartland plus New Orleans this winter.
The Oneworld Alliance carrier will add daily service to Cedar Rapids (CID), Iowa; New Orleans (MSY) and Wichita (ICT), Kansas, from on Dec. 18, reports the Phoenix Business Journal and confirmed by American. The first two routes will operate through April 6 and the latter through May 6.
American will use Airbus A319s for the New Orleans service and Bombardier CRJ900s for Cedar Rapids and Wichita.
The new routes are the latest additions by American in Phoenix. The airline added flights to Raleigh/Durham (RDU), North Carolina, in May and will begin service to Rapid City (RAP), South Dakota, in September. Flights to Chihuahua (CUU), Mexico, launch in December.
The airline is also adding seats in Phoenix with the introduction of its new Airbus A321neo that, with 196 seats, is American's densest narrowbody. The company began flying the aircraft to Orlando, Florida, in April and has scheduled it on flights to cities including Anchorage, Alaska (ANC); Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Washington Reagan National (DCA).
American plans to grow system capacity by roughly 2.5% in 2019. Phoenix capacity is scheduled to increase 2.9%, according to Diio by Cirium data.
On the competitive front, Southwest Airlines also serves New Orleans and Wichita from Phoenix while Allegiant Air serves Cedar Rapids and Wichita from nearby Phoenix/Mesa (AZA), Diio data shows.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.