Boeing delays impact American Airlines' European routes and business class plans

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Boeing delays impact American Airlines' European routes and business class plans

Research

Ayana Morali Contributor | The Points Guy

By Sky Industry News

Jan 24, 2025

American Airlines is facing disruptions due to delays in Boeing's 787 aircraft deliveries. The airline will temporarily suspend three European routes this summer and postpone the introduction of its new Flagship Suite business class. An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed these adjustments on Friday, attributing them to ongoing delivery issues with Boeing.

"As a result of ongoing Boeing 787 delivery delays, American is adjusting service on certain routes in summer 2025 to ensure we are able to reaccommodate customers on affected flights," said the spokesperson. "We'll be proactively reaching out to our impacted customers to offer alternate travel arrangements and remain committed to mitigating the impact of these Boeing delays while continuing to offer a comprehensive global network."

The affected transatlantic routes include Miami International Airport (MIA) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) from May through July, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in June, and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) in July.

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American Airlines has experienced similar challenges before, with previous 787 delivery delays causing route cuts such as Edinburgh, Hong Kong, and Shannon. The airline's long-haul schedule remains vulnerable due to its reliance on Boeing aircraft after retiring other models during the pandemic.

Despite receiving ten 787-9s this year as per their fleet plan from October, further delays have pushed back the launch of the Flagship Suite business class. CEO Robert Isom stated that these seats would debut this year but did not specify an exact timeline for their introduction.

The Flagship Suite represents part of a broader upgrade of American's premium services, including new premium economy seats. This update will also see the removal of long-haul first-class offerings from its fleet when planes are refitted with the new suites.

Additionally, American’s Airbus A321XLRs will feature the Flagship Suite upon delivery later in 2025 for use on transcontinental flights between New York and Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Despite reducing schedules temporarily, American plans continued service across all European destinations it currently serves. It intends reduced frequencies on some routes such as Philadelphia-Rome and Dallas-London over summer months while maintaining connectivity via alternative hubs like Charlotte or Chicago according aviation analytics firm Cirium data insights show.