American unveils 4 new long-haul routes, major expansion for next summer

18.08.2023 - 07:09 / thepointsguy.com / Long

With September just a few weeks away, it's time to start thinking about all the trips you want to take next year.

As you plot your adventures for summer 2024, American Airlines will offer a handful of new seasonal routes and destinations to take you there.

The Fort Worth-based carrier on Thursday unveiled a major expansion for the upcoming summer season, which includes three all-new destinations, one new route and a service resumption.

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Here are the details. Note that all of the new flights will be available for sale starting on Sunday, Aug. 20.

American's expansion is headlined by the addition of three new route-map pins, all of which are in Europe.

This includes:

The carrier will fly daily nonstop flights to all three of these destinations from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Service to Nice begins on May 6, followed by Naples on June 5 and Copenhagen on June 6.

American will exclusively deploy the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on all three new routes. It will use the -8 variant — which features 20 Flagship Business pods, 28 premium economy recliners and 186 economy seats — to Naples.

Meanwhile, the other two routes will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which features 30 Flagship Business pods, 21 premium economy recliners and 234 economy seats.

As far as the onboard experience goes, American's -9 Dreamliners feature a top-notch reverse herringbone business-class product. The smaller "baby" -8 Dreamliners feature a mix of business-class products (one of which is arranged in an alternating forward- and rear-facing configuration). There's no telling which aircraft configuration will operate your flight.

In total, American will offer 15 daily nonstop flights from PHL to 14 European destinations next summer, representing its largest transatlantic schedule from Philadelphia since 2019.

That's major news for the city and for the long-term viability of this Northeast hub. American hasn't necessarily shown much love to Philly since it acquired the hub as part of the merger with US Airways.

For years, the airline hadn't added much new Philly service, especially throughout its Northeast Alliance with JetBlue, which saw a slew of new transatlantic services added from New York.

Now that the Northeast Alliance is dead, American seems to be turning its attention back to Philadelphia.

Earlier this month, the airline shifted the gateway for its splashy Doha route from New York to Philadelphia. It's possible that further expansions are in the works as American crystallizes its long-haul strategy.

As part of the Philly growth, the airline will also resume its PHL to San Antonio route next summer. This will boost the