American Adds New Caribbean Destination. Trims Miami and London
American Airlines has just made some notable changes to its route map.
The Fort Worth-based airline is adding a brand-new international destination, as well as two new flights from New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA). American is also cutting a lucrative transcontinental route from Miami and cutting long-haul service to London this winter.
The changes were first spotted in Cirium’s schedules and later confirmed by an airline spokesperson.
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You can find all the details of American’s changes below, all of which are reflected in the airline’s online schedule.
American Adds Service to South Caicos, Turks and Caicos
The biggest news is that American is adding a brand new stop to its route map: South Caicos, Turks and Caicos (XSC).
The new flight will depart February 15, 2025 and operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays from American’s Caribbean hub at Miami International Airport (MIA).
The airline will deploy 76-seat Embraer 175 regional jets on the new 628-mile route.
The flight will depart Miami at 10:05 a.m. and arrive in South Caicos at 12:27 p.m. The return flight will depart at 1:44 p.m. and arrive in Miami at 3:55 p.m.
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Miami is currently American’s gateway to Latin America and with this new flight, travelers from more than 75 destinations across the United States and Canada will have the opportunity to reach a completely new destination previously unserved by any U.S. airline.
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“American has been flying to Turks and Caicos for more than 30 years and we are excited to announce the only nonstop service from the United States to South Caicos starting in February next year. Customers from across North America will now be able to access this idyllic island and all it has to offer faster and more conveniently,” Jason Reisinger, American’s executive director of global network planning, said in a statement.
Until now, US-based visitors to Turks and Caicos typically flew into Providenciales International Airport (PLS), the island’s capital and main international gateway.
However, the South Caicos area boasts a number of popular resorts (such as Sailrock Resort) and will also be home to a Marriott Luxury Collection Real Estate open next year
The Salterra Turks & Caicos will open on February 15 and is sure to be popular with Bonvoy loyalists, especially since there will be a new direct flight there.
American adds two LaGuardia routes
Last month, the American added a bunch of new routes from its hub at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and now the airline has returned with two routes to Florida for the winter.
The airline will launch flights from LaGuardia to Fort Myers and Tampa starting November 5.
These winter services will operate through May 4, 2025. Service to Tampa will operate twice daily, while flights to Fort Myers will operate once daily.
American told TPG that these routes are designed to “provide customers with additional access to warm-weather destinations.
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To add flights at capacity-constrained LGA, American needs to slot, or take-off and landing rightsto support each flight. Airlines cannot arbitrarily choose these slots, so it is often a zero-sum game when airlines add flights at slot-constrained airports like LaGuardia.
So where does American get the slots? As it turns out, the airline is mostly using existing slots in its warehouses that it originally lent to JetBlue as part of the Northeast Alliance(The airline is also cutting back to once-daily winter service from LaGuardia to Grand Rapids, Michigan.)
However, since the partnership is considered anti-competitive JetBlue must return American’s slots, according to a federal judge last year. as part of the dissolution process.
These slots are often take it or lose it, so if American doesn’t add new routes, it could lose access to these lucrative slots.
While American can “take up space” by adding regional flights that are short and relatively cheap to operate (like service from LGA to Hartford), the airline seems to think it can benefit from some of these popular winter destinations.
In June, the Americans more winter flights from LaGuardia to New Orleans and the Florida cities of Orlando, Sarasota and West Palm Beach.
Americans cut transcontinental route from Miami
Earlier this year, American launched a new transcontinental route from Miami to Orange County, California.
Flights began on January 8 and are now ending — just eight months later — on August 5.
“As part of our review of our capacity growth plans for 2024, American has made the difficult decision to discontinue service between Miami (MIA) and Orange County (SNA),” American told TPG in a statement.
The 2,310-mile route launches as American is busy boosting its operations in Miami, where it faces increasing pressure from rivals like Delta and Spirit — both of which have added new routes and destinations to Miami in recent months.
In fact, this is American’s third new transcontinental route from Miami. American has added flights to Portland, Oregon, on November 5, 2023, followed by service to Sacramentotake off on December 20, 2023.
American will continue to serve both of these transcontinental routes. However, the Orange County service does not appear to be operating as planned. South Florida-based passengers traveling to Orange County can now fly nonstop to Los Angeles and drive or connect at one of American’s hubs across the country.
Beach please: American adds new routes, boosts biggest-ever flight to the Caribbean
American Haircut Service in London
American also made some changes to its long-haul network this weekend, focusing on operations at Heathrow Airport (LHR).
The airline will suspend flights between Phoenix and London this winter and will cancel its daily Los Angeles-London service. (American will operate two daily flights between LA and London instead of three.)
Both of these changes take effect on October 27.
London is an important gateway for American into Europe connecting through partner British Airways’ hub there, but the cuts are not significant as BA will continue to offer daily service between PHX and LHR as part of a transatlantic joint venture partnership.
American shares revenue with British Airways on transatlantic routes and it is likely that the airline has made the decision to cut service from Los Angeles and Phoenix to London in order to coordinate with its transatlantic partner.
“As part of our ongoing network review, American Airlines will adjust service from London (LHR). Together with our partner British Airways, we will continue to operate service from more than 25 destinations across the United States to LHR,” American told TPG.
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