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Over the past decade, American Airlines has made significant adjustments to its transatlantic network. The airline recently announced an expansion that includes the return of several routes to Central and Eastern Europe from major US hubs. Many of these are resumptions rather than entirely new services.
Compared to United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, American remains the smallest among the three largest US carriers in terms of transatlantic and long-haul seat capacity. According to data from Cirium, while 27 transatlantic routes have been cut since 2015, these reductions have been offset by the introduction or resumption of 35 other routes during the same period.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, American’s transatlantic capacity was close to that of its main competitors. However, a combination of fleet retirements—including Boeing 757s, Boeing 767s, and Airbus A330s—and changes in partnerships and network strategy have led to a weaker competitive position for the carrier. For example, LATAM chose Delta as a partner over American in Latin America, impacting American's presence in that region. In Asia, efforts to consolidate its transpacific network at Dallas instead of Los Angeles yielded limited results.
