American Airlines Suspends All Remaining Flights to Asia; Will Reduce Int. Capacity by 75%

American Airlines today starts a phased suspension of additional long-haul international flights from the U.S..

The airline will reduce international capacity by 75% year-on-year from 16 March and until 6 May 2020, at the earliest.

American Airlines will:

- Continue to operate one flight daily from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to London (LHR), one flight daily from Miami (MIA) to LHR and three flights per week from DFW to Tokyo (NRT); and

- Continue short-haul international flying, which includes flights to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Central America and certain markets in the northern part of South America, as scheduled.

In addition to the international changes, the airline anticipates its domestic capacity in April will be reduced by 20% compared to last year and May’s domestic capacity will be reduced by 30% on a year-on-year basis.

International Route Changes - Asia

- Effective 16 March, American will suspend all remaining flights to Asia, except for three flights per week from DFW to NRT
Australia and New Zealand;

- Suspending service from Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL) effective March 16, which was slated to end seasonal flying on 28 March;

- Suspending service from LAX to Sydney (SYD) effective 16 March

Europe - Phased Suspension

- American will continue to operate one flight daily from DFW to LHR and MIA to LHR;

- Suspend flights from New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), and LAX to LHR gradually over the next seven days to re-accommodate passengers and crew;

- LHR, Dublin (DUB) and Manchester (MAN) flights from Charlotte (CLT), Philadelphia (PHL) and Phoenix (PHX) will be suspended faster, as these airports are not approved gateways by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Final eastbound flights from CLT, PHL and PHX was on 15 March; the final westbound flights returning from LHR, DUB and MAN will depart 16 March; and

- Continued suspensions in other parts of Europe, as previously announced, including the delayed start of some seasonal routes as well as flights to and from Amsterdam (AMS), Barcelona (BCN), Frankfurt (FRA), Madrid (MAD) and Munich (MUC) Paris (CDG) and Zurich (ZRH) through early May, or later, based on guidance from the U.S. government and customer demand.

South America, effective 16 March

- Suspending service from JFK and MIA to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) and Georgetown, Guyana (GEO);

- Suspending service from DFW, JFK and MIA to São Paulo (GRU);

- Suspending service from DFW and MIA to:

Chile: Santiago (SCL)
Colombia: Bogota (BOG)
Ecuador: Guayaquil (GYE) and Quito (UIO)
Peru: Lima (LIM)

Suspending service from MIA to:

Brazil: Brasilia (BSB) and Manaus (MAO)

Colombia: Barranquilla (BAQ), Cartagena (CTG), Cali (CLO), Medellin (MDE) and Pereira (PEI)

These capacity reductions assume no slot waivers are in place other than those previously granted. At airports where demand exceeds airfield and/or terminal capacity, access is governed by slots that grant airlines permission to take off and land at specific times. Given the decrease in demand related to COVID19, American, and the industry as a whole, has requested temporary relief from this usage requirement — otherwise known as requesting a slot waiver — to better align capacity with demand without the risk of losing valuable takeoff and landing slots for the future.

American will waive change fees for customers who purchased tickets prior to 15 March for travel to Europe, including the United Kingdom or Ireland, through 31 May. Additionally, American says its reservations team will contact customers whose flights have been canceled directly by email or telephone. Customers who booked through a travel agent will be contacted by their agency directly. If a flight is canceled and a customer chooses not to be rebooked, they can request a full refund.

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