American Airlines will reportedly offer 20% more seats on international flights this winter, looking to head off anticipated demand.
The Fort Worth-based carrier plans to bolster operations ahead of the winter travel season by adding more seating capacity on the company’s over 50 international routes out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
American Airlines (AA) is not only operating an expanded flight schedule that includes routes to Argentina, Italy, France, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, among other destinations, but it will also be flying larger aircraft to accommodate increased customer volume.
“These new routes help the airline continue to build a comprehensive global network for customers across more than 350 destinations,” AA said in a news release.
While inflation continues to put upward pressure on prices across most industries, tickets on AA’s expanded routes will be competitive, according to Jim Moses, senior vice president of operations for AA at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
“There’s just so much demand, right now,” he said, according to WFAA. “We have the opportunity with aircraft, with our ground crews, with our flight crews to reintroduce and ensure [AA is] offering trips where our customers are looking to travel.”
According to Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate, the last two months of 2023 are anticipated to be a bustling travel period.
“This should be the busiest holiday travel season in at least four years, and we might even top 2019,” said Rossman, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. “There continues to be tremendous demand for travel and other experiences as we put the pandemic behind us.”
However, a recent Bankrate survey suggested inflation could cause 86% of holiday travelers making $50,000 or less in household income to adjust their holiday plans. Meanwhile, only 69% of travelers making $100,000 or more are expected to change their plans this year.
By offering more routes to travelers and increasing seating capacity on international flights, AA is looking to grow its customer base and strengthen its financial standing after reporting mixed financial results for the third quarter of 2023.
According to AA, it reported a third-quarter net loss of $545 million. However, the company’s third-quarter revenue reached a record $13.5 billion.
“The American Airlines team continues to produce strong results,” said AA’s CEO Robert Isom. “We are executing on our plans and remain well-positioned for the future.”
