American Airlines Adds Five New European Summer Routes For 2025
Intro
Historically speaking, American Airlines has had the worst international schedule out of the big US3 carriers, opting to focus primarily on domestic routes. However, American Airlines just announced an expansion of new routes coming in the summer of 2025. It might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but it will certainly offer more options to AA Loyalists heading to Europe next summer.
The Routes
The first new route in discussion is the Chicago to Madrid route, which will be operated by a 787-8 beginning March 30th. The route will be just over 4000 miles with blocktimes of 9 hours and 15 minutes westbound and 8 hours and 5 minutes eastbound. The schedule is as follows:
AA126: Chicago-Madrid departing 10:15 PM arriving 1:20 PM (+1 day)
AA125: Madrid-Chicago departing 4:35 PM arriving 6:50 PM
The second new route in discussion is the Philadelphia to Edinburgh route, which will be operated by a 787-8 beginning May 23rd. The route will be just over 3300 miles with blocktimes of 7 hours and 25 minutes westbound and 6 hours and 55 minutes eastbound. The schedule is as follows:
AA278: Philadelphia-Edinburgh departing 7:05 PM arriving 7:00 AM (+1 day)
AA279: Edinburgh-Philadelphia departing 11:35 AM arriving 2:00 PM
The third new route in discussion is the Charlotte to Athens route, which will be operated by a 777-200ER beginning June 5th. The route will be just over 5400 miles with blocktimes of 11 hours and 30 minutes westbound and 10 hours and 20 minutes eastbound. The schedule is as follows:
AA326: Charlotte-Athens departing 7:00 PM arriving 12:20 PM (+1 day)
AA325: Athens-Charlotte departing 12:00 PM arriving 4:30 PM
The fourth new route in discussion is the Philadelphia to Milan route, which will be operated by a 787-8 beginning May 23rd. The route will be just over 4000 miles with blocktimes of 9 hours and 5 minutes westbound and 8 hours and 5 minutes eastbound. The schedule is as follows:
AA298: Philadelphia-Milan departing 9:15 PM arriving 11:20 AM (+1 day)
AA299: Milan-Philadelphia departing 1:35 PM arriving 4:40 PM
The fifth new route in discussion is the Miami to Rome route, which will be operated by a 777-200ER beginning July 5th. The route will be just over 5100 miles with blocktimes of 11 hours and 35 minutes westbound and 10 hours and 20 minutes eastbound. The schedule is as follows:
AA52: Miami-Rome departing 7:35 PM arriving 11:55 AM (+1 day)
AA53: Rome-Miami departing 1:50 PM arriving 7:25 PM
On top of these new routes, American Airlines will also be adding and upgrading a magnitude of routes across Europe and Asia.
American Airlines will upgrade their daily services from Dallas to Shanghai/Narita/Haneda to a 787-9. Traditionally, this route was operated by a 787-8 featuring only 20 business class seats. This represents a 33% increase in space.
The sole other Asia route to receive the same switch is the Los Angeles to Haneda, where the twice daily 787-8 will now be swapped to a twice daily 787-9
My Thoughts
I am very excited about these American Airlines expansions going on. On the surface, it may seem relatively small, but there is one aspect that stands out to me. This is because they are not condensing certain aircraft at certain hubs.
Traditionally, American Airlines would only operate select widebodies from each hub; the exception was Dallas. The last time I remember seeing an American 787-9 operate a T-Pac was before Covid. Now we hearing thoughts that 787-9 pilots will be based at JFK as well! I think big things might be coming.
I have extensively reviewed American Airlines First Class on both their 777-300 and A321T, as well as business class on the 777-200, 777-300, 737 max, and A321T, and also economy on their brand new 787-8. They are all fantastic products. The only downside is the lack of international routes.
Final Thoughts
American Airlines will be adding 5 new routes to their summer schedule for 2025. While Edinburgh is the only "new destination", all 5 of these will provide more options for people looking to fly on American Airlines over to Europe. Additionally, American Airlines seems to have upgraded a lot of T-Pacs going forward, with the likes of 5 routes being upgraded to a 787-9.
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