Knowing you have plenty of flight options when booking a trip is always a good feeling. Besides making it easier to work around your schedule, it can also help reduce the likelihood that a delay or cancellation will seriously derail your travel plans. But airline schedules aren't just affected by extreme weather and staffing shortages: They're often rearranged as carriers follow increases and decreases in demand for tickets to different places. And now, American has announced it will be cutting flights to seven major cities starting next year. Read on to see which destinations will be affected by the changes.
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American Airlines is reducing flight departures between several major cities.
GagliardiPhotography / ShutterstockEven as travelers continue to take to the skies during the busy summer vacation season, many airlines are already preparing for the coming months by making changes to their schedules. That includes American, which will cut the number of flights between a half-dozen major cities next year.
According to data posted on flight schedule website Cirium, the carrier will be reducing service on three international routes, travel news website The Points Guy reports. Departures from the airline's hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Paris, Miami to London, and New York to Rome will be reduced from up to two daily flights to just one.
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The carrier is also suspending another route entirely.
iStockHowever, those aren't the only destinations affected for those traveling abroad. The airline will also be suspending its service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Santiago, Chile, which had been initially posted on the carrier's schedule for next summer, The Points Guy reports.
The move comes nearly a year after American Airlines announced it would be cutting service from New York City's John F. Kennedy Airport and the South American city as of Jan. 4. At the time, the airline announced that it was "proud to offer more flights to Chile than any U.S. carrier," which also serves Santiago with departures from Miami.
Best Life reached out to American Airlines about the changes, and we will update this article with their response.
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American has other schedule changes coming soon.
iStockEven though the latest announced schedule tweaks won't take effect for months, dedicated American Airlines flyers may notice some changes to their booking options well before the year ends.
Earlier this month, the carrier announced it would cut back on flights between Boston and Louisville, Kentucky, from twice to once daily, a spokesperson previously confirmed to Best Life. It also reduced service between Boston and Columbus, Ohio, from three daily flights to two. And the carrier dropped its route between New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and Monterrey International Airport in Mexico as of Dec. 20, The Points Guy reported.
While it's normal for all airlines to shuffle around flights, the latest schedule changes come as American winds down the Northeast Alliance partnership launched with JetBlue in 2021, according to The Points Guy. Per the arrangement, the two carriers worked together to help compete against other well-established airlines in Boston and New York by coordinating their schedules. Passengers flying both airlines could also count on carried-over loyalty benefits and other perks.
But in May, the U.S. Department of Justice upheld an antitrust lawsuit against the alliance that forced the carriers to dissolve the arrangement. As a result, both JetBlue and American have scaled back some of the flights they added as part of the partnership while also reviving others they had winded down.
The carrier is also expanding flights with new destinations and increased international service.
ShutterstockBut while the carrier is cutting back its flights on some routes, it's also bulking up its offerings in others. American is adding three new destinations to its service map with flights from its Northeast hub at Philadelphia International Airport to Nice, France, beginning on May 6 of next year; to Naples, Italy, kicking off on June 5; and Copenhagen, Denmark, launching on June 6, The Points Guy reports. The carrier is also launching a new route from its Dallas/Fort Worth hub to Barcelona, Spain, which will kick off next summer.
The airline also made other adjustments to its European schedule by pushing ahead the start date on specific seasonal routes, including JFK to Athens, Greece; Charlotte to Dublin, Ireland; and relaunching its service from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Venice Marco Polo Airport in Italy as of June 5.
American is also beefing up its schedule with increased service to destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. From Miami, the company is adding a second daily flight to Anguilla and a third to Barbados, Saint Martin, and the British Virgin Islands. It will also expand its schedule to daily flights from Dallas/Fort Worth to Buenos Aires, Argentina starting Oct. 29; Nassau, Bahamas, as of Feb. 15; and add a second daily flight to Cozumel, Mexico, from Jan. 8 to Apr. 3, among other changes, per The Points Guy.
