American Airlines is the world's largest airline in 2021 when measured in flights, seats for sale, and available seat miles. It has been first by all three measures since 2016. We look at its recovery, before delving into its top-15 routes and seeing what has been happening internationally.
American in 2021
The world's largest airline has 1,851,116 two-way flights this year, according to the latest data from experts Cirium. It is ahead of Delta (1,450,520), United (1,282,043), Southwest (1,087,515), and China Eastern (735,287). China Southern, Air China, Ryanair (the original unit), IndiGo, and Alaska Airlines round out the world's top-10 carrier list for the year.
American has 78% of its 2019 flight volume back, the same as Southwest. This contrasts with 74% for Delta and 71% for United. As always, this says nothing of passenger traffic, loads, fares, or financial performance.
It is not necessarily overly fair or insightful to examine the whole year like this, as earlier months will be far more negatively impacted than more recent months. Indeed, in November, American is at 90% of the flights it had in November 2019, ahead of Southwest (89%), United (85%), and Delta (83%).
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American's top airports this year
With three in ten American movements, Dallas Fort Worth is very much the airline's leading airport in 2021. It is highly dominant at the Texas hub, with an 82% share of flights. This rises to nine in ten when all oneworld members are included, Cirium schedules information reveals.
Dallas is a vast fortress hub, where one airline and its regional partners have 70%+ of an airport's flights. Yet, American's share has declined compared to when we examined it earlier in the year, as other airlines have gradually added capacity back.
Charlotte (23% of American's flights), Chicago O'Hare (13%), Miami (10%), and Philadelphia (9%) complete the carrier's top five airport list.
American's top-15 routes
The way that 'top' routes are determined will influence the results. Looking at flights (as done here) means that Dallas features especially prominently. Indeed, Dallas to Los Angeles is American's leading route. The route, a distance of 1,235 miles (1,987 km), has between eight and 14 departures a day this year.
American is one of three airlines on Dallas-Los Angeles, against seven from Austin to Los Angeles. Some eight aircraft types/variants have been deployed from Dallas, including the B787-8, B787-9, B777-200, and B777-300ER. However, it is mainly by the A321ceo.
- Dallas DFW to Los Angeles
- Dallas DFW to Austin
- Dallas DFW to Las Vegas
- Charlotte to Dallas DFW
- Dallas DFW to San Antonio
- Charlotte to Orlando
- Chicago ORD to Dallas DFW
- Dallas DFW to Phoenix
- Dallas DFW to Miami
- Dallas DFW to Denver
- Charlotte to Chicago ORD
- Dallas DFW to San Diego
- Dallas DFW to Orlando
- Dallas DFW to Houston IAH
- Charlotte to Raleigh Durham
What is happening internationally?
American has 175,227 international flights this year, 70% of what it had in 2019. Some 20 US airports have international service, up from 13 in 2019. Miami, Dallas, Charlotte, JFK, and Phoenix are the leading five international airports.
The increase in airports has been driven by American – like JetBlue and other airlines – experimenting by seeking out tourist and visiting friends and relatives hotspots, especially in Mexico and the Caribbean.
Indianapolis, Columbus, Sacramento, St Louis, Kansas City, Raleigh Durham, Fort Lauderdale, and Austin have all welcomed international service by American. Austin was especially fortunate, with routes to Cancun, Liberia, Los Cabos, Nassau, Puerto Vallarta, and Punta Cana. Meanwhile, Boston grew rapidly from launching Heathrow, Cancun, Providenciales, Punta Cana, and Montego Bay.
Have you flown American this year? Share your experiences in the comments.