AMERICAN AIRLINES ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SCHEDULE CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO CUSTOMER DEMAND RELATED TO COVID-19
FORT WORTH, Texas, March 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) today announced additional adjustments to its schedule in response to decreased travel demand due to coronavirus (COVID-19). The company plans to:
- Reduce international capacity for the summer peak by 10% versus the previous selling schedule, including a 55% reduction in trans-Pacific capacity.
- Reduce domestic capacity in April by 7.5% versus the current schedule.
New schedule changes include:
Asia
- Suspending service to mainland China and Hong Kong (HKG) from Los Angeles (LAX) through the summer.
- Suspending service to mainland China from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) through the summer.
- Suspending service to HKG from DFW through June. DFW-HKG will resume with a reduced schedule in July.
- Extending the suspension of service to Seoul, South Korea (ICN) from DFW into early May.
- Flights to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT) and Haneda International Airport (HND) from LAX and DFW will be operated with smaller widebody aircraft beginning in May.
Europe
- Suspending service to Rome (FCO) from Philadelphia (PHL) effective immediately through the end of April.
- Extending the suspension of service to Milan (MXP), and suspending flights to FCO from Chicago (ORD) and Charlotte (CLT) through early summer.
- Delaying the seasonal resumption of flights to Barcelona (BCN) from CLT and to Venice (VCE) from ORD to early June. Also delaying the seasonal resumption of flights to FCO from New York (JFK) and DFW through the end of April and suspending operation of its second daily flight from DFW to FCO for the summer.
- Reducing service to Paris (CDG) and Madrid (MAD) for parts of May and June.
South America
- Flights to Montevideo, Uruguay (MVD) from Miami (MIA) will become seasonal, with service ending in May and resuming in December.
- Flights to Santiago, Chile (SCL) from DFW will be suspended through April.
Widebody aircraft will be redeployed on key domestic routes in American’s network. American will also introduce new seasonal service between ORD and Honolulu (HNL) this summer on a Boeing 787-9.
These capacity reductions assume no slot waivers are in place. 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 drop in demand related to COVID-19, American 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 continue to review its network and make adjustments as needed if waivers are granted.
Full details on these schedule adjustments can be found below.
Domestic network
For April, American will reduce domestic capacity by 7.5% to match demand. The airline will decrease frequencies on markets with robust schedule patterns and will cancel routes where customers can be easily reaccommodated.
Taking care of customers
American will continue to take care of customers as this situation develops and recently announced that change fees will be waived for customers who purchased tickets prior to March 1 for travel through April 30. Additionally, American’s Reservations team will contact affected customers 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 may request a full refund by visiting .
Updated Pacific schedules:
| Origin | Destination | Schedule change | Resumption of service |
| DFW | Beijing (PEK) | Suspended through Oct. 23 | Oct. 24 |
| DFW | Shanghai (PVG) | Suspended through Oct. 23 | Oct. 24 |
| DFW | Hong Kong (HKG) | Suspended through July 1 | July 2, flights resume 3x/week through Oct. 23 |
| DFW | Tokyo-Narita (NRT) | Downgauge from a Boeing 777-200 and 789 mix to a 788 beginning May 7 | |
| DFW | Tokyo-Haneda (HND) | Downgauge from a 777 to a 788 beginning May 7 | |
| DFW | Seoul, South Korea (ICN) | Suspended through May 1 Downgauge from a 789 to a 788 effective May 7 | May 2 |
| LAX | PEK | Suspended through Oct. 23 | Oct. 24 |
| LAX | PVG | Suspended through Oct. 23 | Oct. 24 |
| LAX | HKG | Suspended through Oct. 23 | Oct. 24 |
| LAX | HND | Downgauge from a 789 to a 788 effective May 7 | |
| LAX | Sydney (SYD) | Reduce from daily flights to 6x/week in May and June | Daily service resumes June 19 |
Updated Europe and South America schedules:
| Origin | Destination | Schedule change | Resumption of service |
| CLT | Barcelona, Spain (BCN) | Suspended May 7 through June 3 | June 4 |
| CLT | Rome, Italy (FCO) | Suspended March 28 through June 3 | June 4 |
| DFW | FCO | Suspended March 29 through April 23 | April 24 |
| DFW | FCO – additional summer frequency | Suspended July 2 through Aug. 17 | Flight will not operate as planned |
| DFW | Santiago, Chile (SCL) | Suspended April 14 through May 6 | May 7 |
| JFK | FCO | Suspended March 29 through April 23 | April 24 |
| JFK | Madrid, Spain (MAD) | Suspended May 7 through June 3 | June 4 |
| JFK | Milan (MXP) | Suspended through May 1 | May 2 |
| JFK | Sao Paulo (GRU) | Suspend Tuesday/Wednesday service from April 14 through May 6 | Daily service returns May 7 |
| MIA | Paris (CDG) | Suspended May 7 through June 3 | June 4 |
| MIA | Montevideo, Uruguay (MVD) | Seasonal market exit from May 7 through Dec. 17 | Dec. 18 |
| MIA | MXP | Suspended through May 1 | May 2 |
| ORD | Venice, Italy (VCE) | Suspended through June 3 | June 4 |
| ORD | FCO | Suspended March 28 through June 3 | June 4 |
| PHL | FCO | Suspended March 10 through April 23 | April 24 |
About American Airlines Group
American Airlines offers customers 6,800 daily flights to more than 365 destinations in 61 countries from its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. With a shared purpose of caring for people on life's journey, American's 130,000 global team members serve more than 200 million customers annually. Since 2013, American has invested more than $28 billion in its product and people and now flies the youngest fleet among U.S. network carriers, equipped with industry-leading high-speed Wi-Fi, lie-flat seats, and more inflight entertainment and access to power. American also has enhanced food and beverage options in the air and on the ground in its world-class Admirals Club and Flagship lounges. American was recently named a Five Star Global Airline by the Airline Passenger Experience Association and Airline of the Year by Air Transport World. American is a founding member of oneworld®, whose members serve 1,100 destinations in 180 countries and territories. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL and the company's stock is included in the S&P 500. Learn more about what's happening at American by visiting and connect with American on Twitter and at .
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