American Airlines announced on Thursday evening a series of schedule changes in response to reduced demand related to COVID-19. April transatlantic capacity will be reduced 50 percent and international summer capacity cut by 34 percent versus last year.
Last night (Thursday, March 12, 2020), American Airlines announced additional schedule changes in response to reduced demand related to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The carrier will reduce April transatlantic service by 50% and reduce international capacity for the summer season by 34%. Although the travel ban for customers from the European Schengen Area goes into effect at midnight tonight, American will continue to operate flights to and from Europe for up to seven days to ensure the repatriation of their guests and team members. The carrier will also reduce service to South America and suspend flights to Argentina, though suspended flights are expected to resume as early as May 7, 2020.
The airline will continue operating flights from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), New York (JFK) and Miami (MIA) for up to seven days to Barcelona (BCN), Madrid (MAD), and Paris (CDG). As Charlotte (CLT) and Philadelphia (PHL) are not approved government gateways, service will be suspended from both hubs to Amsterdam (AMS), Frankfurt (FRA), Madrid (MAD), Munich (MUC) and Zurich (ZUC) from Friday March 13, 2020. Service will also be suspended from Raleigh Durham (RDU) to London-Heathrow (LHR). The flight schedule to London-Heathrow will also be reduced from JFK, DFW and Chicago (ORD). Additionally, the start of some seasonal routes will be delayed until early May.
American Airlines is also suspending service to Buenos Aires from MIA, JFK, DFW and LAX and ending service between Miami (MIA) and Cordoba, Argentina (COR). Service between Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and São Paulo (GRU) and Santiago will also be suspended as well as flights between LAX and São Paulo. The carrier has also announced that change fees will be waived to customers who have purchased tickets prior to March 11, 2020 to Europe (Including the UK) through May 31, 2020. Customers impacted by cancellations will be contacted directly.
American Airlines operates 6,800 daily flights to over 365 destinations in 61 countries. Serving over 200 million customers annually, the airline has invested over $28 billion since 2013 in its people, products and services. The carrier currently operates the youngest fleet as compared to the other large U.S. network carriers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® global alliance, which serves over 1,100 destinations in more than 180 countries and territories worldwide.
Source: American Airlines