In response to improving demand for air travel, this July American Airlines plans to fly 55 percent of its domestic schedule and nearly 20 percent of its international schedule compared to the same period last year.
“We’re seeing a slow but steady rise in domestic demand. After a careful review of data, we’ve built a July schedule to match,” said Vasu Raja, American’s senior vice-president of Network Strategy. “Our July schedule includes the smallest year-over-year capacity reduction since March. We’ll continue to look for prudent opportunities to restore service so our customers can travel whenever and wherever they are ready.”
This July the carrier’s hubs, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), will see more flights headed to major cities in Florida, Gulf Coast cities and mountain destinations (Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado).
It will also offer increased frequency to Asheville, North Carolina (AVL), Savannah, Georgia (SAV) and Charleston, South Carolina (CHS) for business and leisure travellers.
While international demand continued to be diminished, the airline resumed flights to eight international destinations on June 4, 2020.
Restored international routes include service from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Amsterdam (AMS), Paris (CDG) and Frankfurt (FRA), as well as service from Miami (MIA) to Antigua (ANU) in the Caribbean and the Ecuadorean cities of Guayaquil (GYE) and Quito (UIO).
American has also restored additional service to London-Heathrow from Chicago (ORD) and New York (JFK).
In addition to increasing the frequency of flights, American is resuming lounge service on June 22 at 11 Admirals Club lounges in 10 key U.S. cities. It is also removing change fees on flights booked in June and on eligible fuller flights, offering customers the option to rebook to a flight with fewer booked seats at check-in.
Investing in customer and employee well-being
American will continue to adhere to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, use enhanced cleaning measures and provide limited food and beverage offerings to help ensure the well-being of customers and team members.
Robust cleaning procedures on all mainline departures include expanded cleaning to disinfect seats, tray tables, seat buckles, air vents and other surfaces inside the aircraft. Other measures include electrostatic spraying of every surface of the interior of the aircraft. Electrostatic spraying eliminates 99.999% of viruses and bacteria within 10 minutes and creates a protective layer for up to seven days.
All American mainline aircraft and most regional aircraft are equipped with onboard HEPA filters that provide a complete air change every two to four minutes, similar to the standard for hospitals.
Health and well-being improvements at Admirals Club lounges include:
- Plexiglass shields at reception and service desks.
- Foot-operated door openers to enable touchless operation of restroom doors (where feasible).
- Hand sanitizer stations for customers.
- Signage and floor decals to remind customers to practice social distancing.