American Airlines will extend its suspension of select routes to mainland China and Hong Kong until October this year, in response to decreased travel demand due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
The US carrier said it plans to reduce international capacity for the summer peak by 10 per cent versus “the previous selling schedule”, including a 55 per cent reduction in trans-Pacific capacity.
Asia-Pacific routes
American Airlines previously announced it would suspend flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong until late April, and suspend its Dallas-Fort Worth-Seoul Incheon service until April 25. The US carrier has now extended the cancellation period for these routes.
The airline said it will also reduce its flights to Sydney, and use smaller, wide-body aircraft to operate services to Tokyo.
The table below shows the airline’s latest flight schedules for its Asia-Pacific routes:
| From | To | Schedule change | Resumption date |
| Beijing (PEK) | Los Angeles (LAX) | Suspended through October 23 | October 24 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Suspended through October 23 | October 24 | |
| Shanghai (PVG) | Los Angeles (LAX) | Suspended through October 23 | October 24 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Suspended through October 23 | October 24 | |
| Hong Kong (HKG) | Los Angeles (LAX) | Suspended through October 23 | October 24 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Suspended through July 1 | July 2 with three weekly flights instead of daily service through October 23 | |
| Seoul Incheon (ICN) | Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Suspended through May 1 | May 2 |
| Downgauge from Boeing 787-9 to Boeing 787-8 starting May 7 | |||
| Tokyo Narita (NRT) | Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Downgauge from a mix of Boeing 777-200 and 787-9 to Boeing 787-8 starting May 7 | – |
| Tokyo Haneda (HND) | Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Downgauge from Boeing 777 to Boeing 787-8 starting May 7 | – |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | Downgauge from Boeing 787-9 to Boeing 787-8 starting May 7 | – | |
| Sydney (SYD) | Los Angeles (LAX) | Reduce from daily flights to six flights per week in May and June | Daily service to resume from June 19 |
Europe and South America routes
The airline said it will also suspend or reduce flights to select destinations in Italy, Spain, France, Uruguay and Chile. The US carrier previously announced the suspension of its flights to Milan, Italy from New York (JFK) and Miami between March 1 and April 25.
The table below shows the airline’s latest flight schedule for its routes to Europe and South America:
| From | To | Schedule change | Resumption date |
| Rome (FCO) | Philadelphia (PHL) | Suspended from March 10 through April 23 | April 24 |
| Chicago (ORD) | Suspended from March 28 through June 3 | June 4 | |
| Charlotte (CLT) | Suspended from March 28 through June 3 | June 4 | |
| New York (JFK) | Suspended from March 29 through April 23 | April 24 | |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Suspended from March 29 through April 23 | April 24 | |
| Additional second daily service in summer suspended from July 2 through August 17 | Flight will not operate as planned | ||
| Milan (MXP) | New York (JFK) | Suspended through May 1 | May 2 |
| Miami (MIA) | Suspended through May 1 | May 2 | |
| Barcelona (BCN) | Charlotte (CLT) | Suspended from May 7 through June 3 | June 4 |
| Venice (VCE) | Chicago (ORD) | Suspended through June 3 | June 4 |
| Madrid (MAD) | New York (JFK) | Suspended from May 7 through June 3 | June 4 |
| Paris (CDG) | Miami (MIA) | Suspended from May 7 through June 3 | June 4 |
| Montevideo (MVD) | Miami (MIA) | Changed from year-round to seasonal service, ending from May 7 through December 17 | December 18 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Suspended from April 14 through May 6 | May 7 |
| Sao Paulo (GRU) | New York (JFK) | Reduce from daily flights to five flights per week (flights on Tue and Wed suspended) from April 14 through May 6 | Daily service to resume from May 7 |
Domestic routes
As for its domestic services, the airline said it will reduce its domestic capacity by 7.5 per cent in April to match demand. It added that it will “decrease frequencies in markets with robust schedule patterns” and will cancel routes where customers can be easily re-accommodated.
The airline added that it will redeploy wide-body aircraft on key domestic routes in its network, and it’ll introduce a new seasonal service between Chicago and Honolulu this summer on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Arrangements for affected passengers
The US carrier recently announced that change fees will be waived for customers who purchased tickets prior to March 1 for travel through April 30. It added that its reservations team will contact affected customers directly by email or telephone, while those who booked through a travel agent will be contacted by their agency directly.
According to the airline, if a flight is cancelled and a customer chooses not to be rebooked, they may request a full refund by visiting this website.
