American Airlines to Launch Links to Birmingham and Edinburgh from New York

US major American Airlines has revealed a further boost of its transatlantic activities with oneworld partner British Airways (BA) with the introduction of two new summer seasonal routes in 2015 from New York to Birmingham and Edinburgh and the launch of a second daily flight between Los Angeles and London Heathrow.

The two new seasonal flights between New York and Birmingham and Edinburgh will be launched from May 7, 2015 and will be operated using a 182-seat Boeing 757-200 configured with 22 Business Class and 160 Economy seats. Both flights will operate under a codeshare arrangement with British Airways through their joint transatlantic business.

Details of American Airlines latest European expansion for summer 2015 were exclusively first revealed by Routesonline's blog, Airline Route on November 1, 2014. Read 'American Airlines Expands European Service in S15'.

This will be the first time American Airlines has served both city pairs, although it will actually mark the return of flights on both routes. The New York – Birmingham market was previously flown by BA but its flights ended after it made a long-haul retreat from the UK regions with added competition from the introduction of flights by Continental Airlines to its Newark hub, a route that continues to be served by United Airlines.

According to Paul Kehoe, chief executive officer, Birmingham Airport, this new route will not only create more capacity to this vibrant US business and tourist destination, it will also broaden connectivity and choice from the Midlands with American Airlines across North America and Canada and see the return of a British Airways flight code to Birmingham.

"Last year, the West Midlands exported £4.5bn worth of goods to North America and has the largest trade surplus with North America of any UK region, and with global brands such as JLR, JCB, Cadbury and Kraft trading both locally and in the US, this is an important link for Midlands’ business,” he said. “The region is also a major tourist destination for Americans, with attractions such as Stratford, Warwick and Birmingham drawing in thousands of visitors every year.”

In our analysis, below, we highlight estimated annual bi-directional O&D passenger demand between Birmingham and New York's international air gateways of JFK International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. Our analysis of MIDT data shows that around 52.9 per cent of demand on United Airlines' existing Birmingham - Newark route in 2013 was local demand with approximately 46.1 per cent connecting beyond Newark.

Data provided by

The New York – Edinburgh route was most recently served by Delta Air Lines between May 2008 and September 2009, but like Birmingham, United Airlines serves the wider New York market through a regular link to Newark, a route first introduced by Continental Airlines in June 2004. A summer seasonal between Edinburgh and Philadelphia was introduced by US Airways for American Airlines this summer but it appears this route may have been sacrificed to accomodate the New York link in 2015.

In our analysis, below, we highlight estimated annual bi-directional O&D passenger demand between Edinburgh and New York's international air gateways of JFK International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. The demand peaks in 2008 and 2009 clearly show how Delta Air Lines stimulated the market when it previously operated direct flights between the two cities. Our analysis of MIDT data shows that around 41.6 per cent of demand on United Airlines' existing Edinburgh - Newark route in 2013 was local demand with approximately 58.2 per cent connecting beyond Newark.

Data provided by

Alongside the links into the UK regions American Airlines has also confirmed the introduction of a second daily Los Angeles – London Heathrow rotation from the start of the summer 2015 schedule in late March 2015. The new flight will mean the US carrier and BA will jointly operate four daily flights on the route and American Airlines has retimed its existing flight to offer an enhanced schedule between the two cities.

“As the premier airline in Los Angeles, this additional frequency to London caters to our high-end Los Angeles-area customers,” said Andrew Nocella, senior vice president and chief marketing officer. American Airlines. “These customers demand a world-class travel experience including true First and Business Class cabins on modern aircraft serving the best network at LAX. With new airplanes and more inflight Wi-Fi and entertainment options, demand for our LAX service is without peer.

With nearly 200 daily departures, American Airlines has a rich history in Southern California and is adding new aircraft and new service into markets which cater to a wide breadth of industries – entertainment, banking and finance, energy, technology, manufacturing, among others. This includes direct service to all of American’s hubs with the most nonstop flights from Los Angeles to New York, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Phoenix and Charlotte.

During this year, American has expanded its Los Angeles hub with new twice-daily service to Vancouver, Canada, daily non-stop flights to Edmonton, Canada and San Antonio, Texas. This week it will add a daily non-stop link to Tampa, Florida and three daily non-stop flights to Atlanta will be inaugurated from March 5, 2015.

Earlier this month, American Airlines also submitted a motion to the US Department of Transportation asking it to reallocate what it claimed to be “an underutilised” US – Tokyo Haneda frequency to the carrier with an intention to operate a year-round service between Los Angeles and the Japanese capital.

The European network growth from American Airlines will not just be limited to the UK market as the US carrier has also confirmed the return of flights between Miami and Frankfurt, a route the carrier last served in May 1997. Its resumption of this flight, to be operated daily with a Boeing 767-300ER from May 14, 2015, will end the current monopoly of Lufthansa: the German national carrier offers a daily Airbus A380 rotation.

"As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Miami hub, new service to Frankfurt underscores Miami's importance and our commitment to its growth," said Marilyn DeVoe, 'vice president - Miami, American Airlines. "We're incredibly proud of how we connect customers to Latin America, and new service to Europe demonstrates Miami's strength as a destination for international travellers."