These are the international long-haul routes American, Delta and United plan to fly in August
The constant change in coronavirus pandemic travel rules and restrictions makes staying on top of what international long-haul routes airlines are flying something of a game of "cat and mouse."
One week flights to Greece are coming back and next the they're gone like a beach on Mykonos emptying out ahead of a storm.
But the situation is dire. Executives at American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines — the only long-haul U.S. carriers — do not expect international travel to recover in a big way any time soon.
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"Next year we will be a materially smaller carrier, and an extremely smaller carrier internationally," said American Airlines chief revenue office Vasu Raja during a second quarter earnings call on July 23.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based Oneworld Alliance carrier has outlined plans to delay restarting much of its international long-haul network next year. But even then, 19 routes and six destinations will not be returning to the American map — numbers that are likely to keep changing as the pandemic continues.
For August, American, Delta and United have plans to resume a few routes. American will bring back some South American flying while Delta and United continue to sprinkle back routes across the world. Hawaiian remains hamstrung by its namesake state's mandatory quarantine rules.
Below are the international long-haul routes planned by U.S. airlines for August as of Aug. 3.
Related: A country-by-country guide to coronavirus recovery
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American
- Chicago O'Hare (ORD) – London Heathrow (LHR)
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – Amsterdam (AMS), Dublin (DUB), Frankfurt (FRA), London Heathrow, Madrid (MAD), Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Seoul Incheon (ICN), Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Tokyo Narita (NRT)
- New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) – London Heathrow
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo Haneda
- Miami (MIA) – Lima (new, LIM), London Heathrow, Santiago (new, SCL), São Paulo Guarulhos (new, GRU)
Routes confirmed as of July 27.
Related: American drops 19 long-haul routes; cuts in LAX, adds in Seattle
Delta
- Atlanta (ATL) – Amsterdam, Dublin (new), Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Munich (new, MUC), Paris Charles de Gaulle, São Paulo Guarulhos (new), Seoul Incheon and Tokyo Haneda (new)
- Boston (BOS) – Amsterdam
- Detroit (DTW) – Amsterdam, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Seoul Incheon, Shanghai Pudong (PVG) via Seoul, and Tokyo Haneda
- New York JFK – Amsterdam, Dakar (DSS), London Heathrow (new), Milan (new, MXP), Paris Charles de Gaulle and Tel Aviv
- Los Angeles – Sydney and Tokyo Haneda (new)
- Seattle (SEA) – Amsterdam, Seoul Incheon, Shanghai Pudong via Seoul, and Tokyo Haneda
Routes confirmed as of July 28.
Related: Delta says air travel recovery has stalled, hopes more flyers return by end of summer
Hawaiian
Hawaiian plans to resume service to Japan, South Korea and Tahiti on Aug. 31, as of July 27. However, that date is dependent on when Hawaii eases its mandatory 14-day quarantine for arrivals that currently extends through Sept. 1.
Related: Hawaii to stay closed at least until September
United
- Chicago O'Hare – Brussels (new, BRU), Frankfurt (new), London Heathrow and Tokyo Haneda
- Houston Intercontinental (IAH) – Lima (new) and São Paulo Guarulhos
- Newark (EWR) – Amsterdam, Brussels (new), Delhi (DEL), Dublin, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Munich (new), Paris Charles de Gaulle, São Paulo Guarulhos (new), Tel Aviv and Tokyo Narita
- San Francisco (SFO) – Delhi (new), Frankfurt, Hong Kong (HKG), London Heathrow (new), Seoul Incheon, Shanghai Pudong via Seoul, Sydney, Tahiti (new, PPT), Tel Aviv and Tokyo Narita
- Washington Dulles (IAD) – Brussels, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Munich and Zurich (ZRH)
Routes confirmed as of Aug. 3.
Related: United Airlines worries travel recovery will stall until there's a COVID vaccine
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