American Airlines, starting December 16, 2022, has begun connecting Miami, United States's Miami International Airport (MIA), with Montevideo, Uruguay’s Carrasco International Airport, with its Boeing 787s. This provides the South American capital city once again with direct flights to a United States hub airport while American Airlines increases connections to other Latin American cities.
The route and schedule
Below is the schedule for the daily flights flying 4,482 miles or 7,213 kilometers until January 9th:
Flight |
From |
ETD |
To |
ETA |
AA 989 |
Miami (MIA) |
10:35 p.m. |
Montevideo (MVD) |
9:22 a.m. +1 |
AA 984 |
Montevideo (MVD) |
11:45 p.m. |
Miami (MIA) |
6:57 a.m. +1 |
After January 9th, flights will occur only three times a week, starting from Miami on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. AA 984 will launch from Montevideo on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. American’s last flight for these routes as of now is planned for March 25th, 2023 – a Saturday – but according to Aviacionline, negotiations are underway to make the flights permanent.
About Carrasco International Airport
Carrasco International Airport (MVD) is Montevideo, Uruguay’s main airport, with a relaunched website and two asphalt runways. The first one, 01/19, is 2,250 meters or 7,382 feet long. The second runway intersects as 06/24 at a length of 3,000 meters or 10,499 feet.
The circa December 2009 single terminal is considered an award-winning source of pride to Uruguayans. The terminal has three floors to process both domestic and international flights and partially runs on solar energy. Also, according to TripSavvy.com, the terminal’s roof is “inspired by the sand dunes of Uruguay’s beaches”.
The terminal also comes with a duty-free store, McDonald's, McCafe, Starbucks, and other eateries. There are also other support services like a luggage storage service.
MVD also comes with – according to American Airlines – TSA PreCheck, mobile boarding passes, self-service check-in, and priority benefits. The priority benefits are for first, business, and premium economy passengers and others with special statuses like AAdvantage® status members and oneworld Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby members.
MVD is served by, for starters, not just American Airlines but Air Europa and Iberia, both with a connection to Madrid, Spain; LATAM, with connections to various Brazil, Chile, and Peru destinations; and also Avianca, with a direct flight to Bogotá, Colombia. Aerolíneas Argentinas connects to Buenos Aries, Argentina while Azul Linhas Aéreas (AD) and GOL Linhas Aéreas connect to several Brazilian destinations such as Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro and soon Florianópolis, Foz do Iguaçu plus Salvador.
As per above, the airport also recently held a photocall called “AeroFotoFest” where,
To celebrate the 15th Safety and Security Week… [Carrasco International Airport] brought together 200 amateur and professional photographers from Uruguay and the region, to give them the opportunity to capture unique images of the country’s main air terminal and its operations.
The event raised funds for Cimientos Uruguay, a civil society organization that promotes equality in education.
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Using the Boeing 787
American Airlines will again reuse the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to make the flight. The Boeing 787 is not just a logical replacement to the 1980s era Boeing 767 but is also considered by American Airlines to be “an essential part of our fleet” the airline has “tremendous confidence” in.
The airline also has well-equipped its 787 business class cabins. Earlier this year, Simple Flying did a trip review.
Furthermore, the Boeing 787 was designed and built with the concept of replacing hub and spoke airline route models with point to point long distance service. However, hub and spoke service still makes sense – what with Miami and Montevideo being hub airports.
Ultimately, this route will connect two significant hub airports in the two Americas using a modern aircraft. As per a recent analysis, the Boeing 787 combines several cutting-edge technologies like composite construction, laminar flow control, and better electronics to improve both efficiency and safety.
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Sources: American Airlines Monevideo Airport, Aviacionline, TripSavvy.com