American Airlines Reduces International Routes Due to Boeing 787 Delays

Skift Take

American is the latest airline to alter its schedule as delivery delays at Boeing mount.

Meghna Maharishi

American Airlines said Friday it would reduce some of its international routes during the second half of the year and early into 2025 because of ongoing Boeing 787 Dreamliner delays. 

The carrier is the latest to trim its schedule as a result of Boeing delivery delays.

“We’re making these adjustments now to ensure we’re able to re-accommodate customers on affected flights,” American said in a statement. “We’ll be proactively reaching out to impacted customers to offer alternate travel arrangements.”

American will suspend multiple routes to Europe at the end of the summer. Here are the affected routes:

• JFK to Athens seasonal flights will be suspended earlier, starting September 3. Previously, service was supposed to end October 26. 
• Philadelphia to Venice will be suspended October 5.
• O’Hare to Paris will be suspended September 3; service will resume in summer 2025. 
• JFK to Barcelona will be suspended September 3; service will resume in summer 2025. Previously, the route was year-round. 
• Dallas-Fort Worth to Dublin and Rome service will end October 26; service will resume in summer 2025. Both routes were originally scheduled as year-round. 

American said it will also reduce flights from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, JFK to Buenos Aires and JFK to Rome. Some of the carrier’s Hawaii routes will also see reductions. For example, American said it would no longer fly from Dallas-Fort Worth to Kona this winter. 

Despite the cuts, American is also increasing capacity on other routes. Philadelphia to Barcelona flights will fly daily starting in January. American said it would also operate flights from Miami to Sao Paulo three times a day from October 27 to March 25. 

Boeing said it would delay the production of the 787 due to a shortage of certain parts. The plane maker previously halted 787 deliveries in 2021 due to manufacturing issues. 

U.S. Airlines Rethink Operations

American isn’t the only carrier to be affected by the Boeing delivery delays. Southwest Airlines said in an earnings release Thursday that it would make a rare move and exit from four airports: Syracuse, New York, Houston-IAH, Cozumel, Mexico and Bellingham, Washington. 

Southwest CEO Bob Jordan also said it planned to end 2024 with 2,000 fewer employees in a bid to cut costs due to delivery delays with the Max 7, an aircraft that has yet to be certified. 

United Airlines said it would pause pilot hiring in the spring because it doesn’t expect its orders for 80 Max 10s to be fulfilled this year. The airline also asked some of its pilots to take unpaid time off since the delivery delays reduced its forecasted block hours in 2024.