American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) today announced additional adjustments to its schedule in response to decreased travel demand due to coronavirus (COVID-19). The company plans to:
- Reduce international capacity for the summer season by 34% versus the previous selling schedule, including a 50% reduction in April trans-Atlantic capacity.
- Continue to operate flights to and from Europe for up to seven days to ensure customers and employees can return home.
- Reduce service to South America, including a suspension of flights to Argentina.
- Suspended flights are expected to resume as early as May 7.
New schedule changes include:
Europe
- Continue operating flights from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), New York City (JFK), and Miami (MIA) to Barcelona (BCN), Madrid (MAD) and Paris (CDG) for up to seven days
- Suspending flights from Charlotte (CLT) and Philadelphia (PHL) to Amsterdam (AMS), Frankfurt (FRA), MAD, Munich (MUC) and Zurich (ZRH) on Friday, March 13, as CLT and PHL are not government-approved gateways
- Suspending service from Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina (RDU) to London (LHR)
- Reducing service from JFK, DFW and Chicago (ORD) to LHR
- Delaying the start of some seasonal routes to early May
South America
- Suspending service from MIA, JFK, DFW, LAX to Buenos Aires (EZE) and ending service from MIA to Cordoba, Argentina (COR)
- Suspending service from DFW and LAX to São Paulo (GRU)
- Suspending service from DFW to Santiago (SCL)
These capacity reductions assume no slot waivers are in place. At airports where demand exceeds airfield and/or terminal capacity, access is governed by slots that grant airlines permission to take off and land at specific times. Given the decrease in demand related to COVID-19, American has requested temporary relief from this usage requirement — otherwise known as requesting a slot waiver — to better align capacity with demand without the risk of losing valuable takeoff and landing slots for the future. American will continue to review its network and make adjustments as needed if waivers are granted.
Taking care of customers
American will continue to take care of customers as this situation develops. The airline announced today that it has offered to waive change fees for customers who purchased tickets prior to March 11 for travel to Europe, including the United Kingdom, through May 31. Additionally, American’s Reservations team will contact customers whose flights have been canceled directly by email or telephone. Customers who booked through a travel agent will be contacted by their agency directly. If a flight is canceled and a customer chooses not to be rebooked, they may request a full refund by visiting aa.com/refunds.
