American Airlines is eyeing a return to Australia in late October. Timed to coincide with the start of the 2022/23 winter flying season, American Airlines will send its planes back to Sydney from October 26, seeing all three big US airlines back on the Los Angeles - Sydney route. And there's a postscript - it seems AA will swap out their Dreamliners for Boeing 777s on the Sydney run in December.

American Airlines heads back to Sydney in late October

The first flight out of Los Angeles (LAX) on Wednesday, October 26, looks like a positioning flight to start services out of Sydney (SYD) a few days later. AA73 will push back from LAX at 23:15 on October 26 and make the 14-hour and 50-minute trek down to Sydney, landing at 08:05 two days later. American Airlines will initially deploy a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the route.

From Saturday, October 29, the late evening flight out of LAX will commence on a daily basis. Out of SYD, American Airlines is re-also re-commencing flights on October 29. AA72 closes its doors at 11:15 to make the 13-hour and 50-minute flight across the Pacific to Los Angeles, touching down at 07:05 on the same day.

These flights mark American's return to Sydney after suspending services in May due to aircraft shortages. It was a case of unfortunate timing for the airline because demand (and fares) on Australia - US routes is now rocketing upwards. Competitors still flying between Sydney and Los Angeles are presently enjoying full planes and some very juicy yields.

Still, it's a case of better late than never for American Airlines. Those 787-9 Dreamliners have three cabin classes, including a 234-seat economy class cabin, a 21-seat premium economy cabin, and a 30-seat "Flagship" business class. Competitors on the SYD- LAX route include Qantas with its Airbus A380 and Boeing 787-9 flights, Delta Air Lines with Airbus A350-900s, and United Airlines with Boeing 787-9s.

American Airlines Boeing 777 flights to Sydney from mid-December

Just weeks into the Australian 2022/23 summer, American Airlines is swapping those Dreamliners for Boeing 777-300ERs. Out of LAX from December 16, AA73's departure time will come forward to 22:40, and the Boeing 777s will take over. The American Airlines Boeing 777 flights will start departing Sydney on December 17.

By then, between the four airlines flying nonstop between Sydney and Los Angeles, you'll see four aircraft types on the route - the A380, the 787-9, the A350-900, and the 777-300ER. American's 777s will operate the SYD - LAX route in rotation with the Los Angeles - London Heathrow run.

But as the last couple of years in the airline business have shown, a lot can change in the space of a few months. While American's flights are in the schedules and available for sale, an internal AA memo describes the return of the Sydney flights as "the current plan."

In the meantime, American Airlines continues to sell flights to Sydney but sends passengers onto codeshare flights operated by oneworld partner Qantas. The switch from an anticipated AA Dreamliner to Qantas' roomier A380s could be a welcome upgrade for many passengers.