According to the latest schedule upload, 34,000 flights to, from, and within the USA in November have been removed. This is on top of previous reductions, and it's the latest month to see big changes.

It means that, this week alone, November flights have fallen by 4.4%, a loss of 3.4 million seats for sale. One airline was primarily responsible.

November flights down by 34,000

While 20 airlines have reduced their November plans for the US, it is enormously down to American Airlines, as shown below. It has cut nearly 29,000 services in its latest schedule filing. This week, American expects 155,770 November flights, according to Cirium. That's down from 184,577 planned last week and 195,659 at the start of April. Of course, many other airlines have been chopping their schedules, and will continue to do so.

  1. American: November flights cut by 28,807 in the latest upload (-12.6%)
  2. Delta: down by 4,396 (-3.3%)
  3. United: reduced by 497 (-0.4%)
  4. WestJet: down by 410 (-23.2%)
  5. Frontier: reduced by 90 (-0.7%)

Still, it's not all bad news. In the past week, American, meanwhile, will begin (admittedly very time-limited) Miami to Providence and Portland (Maine), both Saturday only in November, along with Philadelphia to Salt Lake City (November-January, but mainly for the festive period). Meanwhile, Delta has added Boston to Westchester from October (but it's really slot-sitting), and Avelo will commence Palm Springs – one of the country's fastest-growing airports – from Eugene, Redmond, and Santa Rosa in November.

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Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

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American's cuts

Analyzing American's schedule changes for November indicates that 11 routes have been temporarily or permanently removed. Most are insufficient and simply involve taking off in December rather than November. However, Miami to Milwaukee, introduced by American in November 2020, has been pulled. It was to run 1x daily this winter utilizing the Embraer 175.

  1. Boston to Providenciales: won't restart in November; resumes on December 17th
  2. Charlotte to Puerto Vallarta: won't resume in November; back on December 3rd
  3. Miami to Des Moines: won't resume in November; back on December 3rd, but Saturday-only rather than 1x daily
  4. Miami to Grand Rapids: won't restart in November; restarts on December 3rd, but Saturday-only rather than 1x daily
  5. Miami to Madison: won't restart in November; resumes on December 3rd
  6. Miami to Managua: suspension continues in October-December; to return on January 13th
  7. Miami to Milwaukee: permanently cut
  8. Miami to Minneapolis: won't resume in November; restarts on December 15th
  9. Miami to Oklahoma City: won't operate this winter; back on April 4th
  10. Miami to Samana: won't resume in November; back on December 17th
  11. St Louis to Cancun: won't restart in November; resumes on December 17th
Routes that American won't now operate in November
Routes that American will now operate in November and some for longer. Note that Miami to Milwaukee has been permanently cut. Image: GCMap.

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89 routes cut by 40%+

Much more significantly, 89 of American's routes have seen November flights reduce by 40% or more, shown in the map below. They include a handful that have nearly no service in the fall month, mainly due to resumptions being pushed back.

Those with almost no November flights include Chicago O'Hare to San Jose (California), Phoenix to Cleveland, and O'Hare to Evansville. The latter, last served in March, was to be 2x daily through November; now it'll be 2x daily from November 30th using the Embraer 145.

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All of these routes have seen American's November flights reduced by 40% or more. Image: GCMap.

Dallas to McAllen

American has removed 106 November flights each way between Dallas and McAllen, more than any other route. Last week, the 469-mile (754km) airport pair was to be served 236 times in November (normally 8x daily), now there are 130 (typically 4x daily).

While flights have reduced by 44.9%, seats for sale are down by just 12.9%. That's because over nine in ten flights will now be by mainline equipment (primarily the B737-800 but also the A320 and A319), up from half last week. Seats per flight have risen to 162 from 102, demonstrating how American's trying to offset frequency reductions in this market.

What do you make of the cuts? Let us know in the comments.