American Airlines has announced that Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport will be the airline's major trans-Pacific hub as it adjusts its network to cope with decreased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the airline, Miami International Airport will continue to be the preeminent hub for flights to the Caribbean and Latin America, and PHL will continue to be the primary hub for service to Europe.
The airline said in an announcement on Wednesday that it will adjust its long-haul international schedule for winter 2020 through summer 2021. The airline said it will realign its network in order to improve long-term profitability amid the spread of coronavirus.
The international capacity on long-haul flights during summer 2021 is expected to be down 25% compared to 2019, the airline said.
“COVID-19 has forced us to reevaluate our network,” American’s Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja said. “American will have a significantly smaller international network in the year ahead, but we are using this opportunity to hit reset and create a network using the strength of our strategic hubs that we can build and grow upon and be profitable on in this new environment.”
The airline is discontinuing several routes that are expected to show a decrease in demand.
Three trans-Atlantic routes from both Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport will be discontinued, as well as five underperforming routes from Los Angeles International Airport to destinations in Asia and South America.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
From DFW Airport, the airline is discontinuing flights to Munich, Germany.
“American has spent the past few years right-sizing its international network, discontinuing underperforming routes while adding leisure destinations like Dubrovnik and Prague,” Brian Znotins, American’s Vice President of Network Planning, said. “Now, as demand has significantly diminished due to COVID-19, we have to be nimble, creating the network that our customers desire.”
