American Airlines has not been caught napping by Delta's move into South America via LATAM. The rival carrier has rapidly increased services to the southern continent from one of its hubs in Miami.

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American will be using their workhorse Boeing 777 fleet to help increase route capacity. Photo: Tom Boon/Simple Flying

What are the details?

In the midst of Delta expanding its stake in LATAM, American Airlines has decided to increase its presence to South America, according to a press release issued today. As the airline is no longer selling codeshare LATAM tickets, there is now an open market for the carrier to leverage the most popular routes and make some serious advances over rivals.

American will increases services from Miami (MIA) to:

  • Lima, Peru (LIM), from April 7 - currently twice daily, will increase to three times a day year-round with a Boeing 757.
  • Santiago, Chile (SCL), from winter 2020 - once a day will be upgraded to twice daily with a Boeing 777-200.
  • São Paulo(GRU), from winter 2020 - twice a day currently and will be upgraded to three times a day with a Boeing 777-200.
American
The three routes with increased frequencies. Photo: GC Maps

These routes to the capital cities are obviously the most popular in South America and thus will give the most bang for the buck (although we could see an additional route to Buenos Aries in the future too).

"American's leading position in Miami is something we're incredibly proud of and committed to maintaining," said Vasu Raja, American's Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning in the press release.

"We have so many possibilities from our Latin American gateway and are excited for the opportunity to use our domestic strength to enhance our international network. We'll continue to grow, compete and thrive in a region of the world where we have a long history and a bright future."

This is likely going to start Delta's LATAM on the back foot, as the American carrier plunges deep into their once confidently held territory. Likely we will see codeshare flights take off with Delta, who in turn will be able to better match the American frequency and passenger value proposition.

Delta Air Lines, LATAM, Airbus A350
Delta Air Lines is to acquire a total of 14 of LATAM's Airbus A350s. Photo: Delta Air Lines

What about other route upgrades?

In the same press release, American Airlines also highlighted additional five daily transatlantic services from Boston with partner British Airways.

"Our new nonstop flight, combined with the service provided by our Atlantic Joint Business, gives customers the most robust schedule and the most premium seats between Boston and London," Raja continued in the press release. "Boston customers have been asking for more service and we're delivering with this new flight, and our recently announced seasonal service to Nassau and Grand Cayman."

American Airlines has also increased the length of their peak season services to Europe for the 2020 season. More details can be found here.

What do you think about this increase in services? Let us know in the comments.