American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines are intensifying competition on routes between the United States and Spain as they seek to capture a growing market for both leisure and business travel. This year, the three carriers are collectively operating over 75,000 flights to Europe and offering about 19 million seats.
American Airlines holds the largest presence among US airlines flying to Spain. The carrier operates 11 routes from six major hubs—New York JFK, Philadelphia, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, and Charlotte—serving Madrid and Barcelona from all except Charlotte, which only connects to Madrid. All routes operate daily; however, four are seasonal and pause operations between October and March. For the upcoming winter season, American is reintroducing two seasonal routes earlier than planned and increasing capacity on select flights by deploying larger aircraft on routes from Dallas/Fort Worth and Philadelphia.
United Airlines now serves more Spanish destinations than any other US carrier. In addition to its long-standing services from Newark and Washington Dulles to Madrid and Barcelona, United has expanded into several leisure markets with seasonal summer flights to Málaga, Tenerife, Bilbao, and Palma de Mallorca. The airline will add Santiago de Compostela in 2026 with three weekly flights from Newark starting May 22. According to United Airlines: “This will mark the first regular link between the United States and the Galician city,” making United the sole operator of this route.
Tenerife stands out as an exception among United’s Spanish destinations. After launching as a summer service in 2022, it became a year-round operation in 2024. While there were reports earlier this year that service would end after May 1, 2025, aviation analytics firm Cirium indicates that flights will resume for the winter season beginning December 18 to meet holiday travel demand.
Delta Air Lines maintains consistent year-round service between its Atlanta and New York JFK hubs to both Madrid and Barcelona. During peak summer months, Delta increases frequency on Barcelona routes up to 11–12 flights per week from each hub. Earlier this year saw the introduction of Boston–Barcelona flights; next year Delta plans further expansion by launching Seattle–Barcelona service along with resuming daily flights to Madrid starting May 16, 2026. The new Barcelona route will begin slightly earlier with four weekly frequencies.
Delta also intends for all its seasonal Boston-to-Europe services—including those to Spain—to start earlier in 2026 compared to previous years as part of broader transatlantic growth focused on increased frequencies at Barcelona-El Prat Airport.
