AA to launch flights from Dallas to Seoul and Lima

American Airlines (AA) will provide new connections between Asia and the Americas with the launch of non-stop flights from its Dallas Fort Worth hub to Seoul and Lima. The airline said these new flights, along with service increases to Europe (see here) aimed to provide better connections for major business located in the US. "Nearly one-third of Fortune 500 companies are located in our five hub cities, and these new routes will provide more convenient access for our business travelers to key international destinations," said Virasb Vahidi, AA's chief commercial officer. Texas houses the headquarters of 52 Fortune 500 companies including Dell, Sysco, AT&T, special materials producer Celanese, and natural gas storage company Energy Transfer Equity. Daily flights to Seoul Incheon will start from May 19 next year. Flight AA27 using a 777-200 will leave Dallas at 1030 and arrive in Seoul at 1500 the next day, with the return leg AA26 departing at 1700 and landing at 1620. “When we look at the top 10 global markets, Seoul is one of those top markets,” Vahidi told The Dallas Morning News. “It’s extremely important for our corporate customers and our high value customers.” The airline said the new route would provide convenient access for customers traveling from South Korea to connect to more than 200 flights from Dallas Fort Worth to cities in the United States and Latin America. Daily non-stop flights between Dallas and Lima will begin from April 2 next year. Flight AA2193 will leave Dallas at 1730 and arrive in Lima at 0025 the next day, with the return leg departing Lima at 0200 and landing at 0915. The new flight allows passengers to connect to AA's existing non-stop service between Dallas Fort Worth and Tokyo, allowing improved travel between Peru and Japan. The two countries have strong ties, with a large overseas Japanese population residing in Peru and healthy bilateral trade relations. Amongst other things, Peru exports minerals and foodstuffs to Japan, and imports automobiles and electronic products. In May 2011, the two countries signed an economic partnership and free-trade agreement which the Peruvian Ministry Of Foreign Trade forecast would boost inter-country trade by a further 30 per cent. For more information, visit www.aa.com Nicholas Olczak