American Airlines has postponed the start of its Dallas – Tel Aviv and Seattle – Bangalore flights. Citing continued suppression of business travel and some travel restrictions, the airline has decided to postpone the start of these routes to March 2022. Further delays are likely, but American remains committed to serving these two routes.
American Airlines has postponed two of its much-anticipated long-haul flights. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy flying
American Airlines delayed two long-haul flights
The flight schedules viewed on Cirium show that the airline has delayed the take-off of two of its most anticipated long-haul routes. The move has also been confirmed by American Airlines. The first route runs from Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv. The flight three times a week is operated by a Boeing 777-200ER and will take off on March 5, 2022.
American Airlines has postponed its flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) in Bangalore. This flight, operated by a Boeing 787-9, will now operate daily from March 26, 2022.
American Airlines has published the following statement to Simple Flying about the changes:
“This weekend we postponed the start of our Dallas-Fort Worth-Tel Aviv (DFW-TLV) and Seattle-Bengaluru, India (SEA-BLR) flights due to entry restrictions to Israel and the slower return than expected business trip. American is fully committed to Israel and India – we currently serve TLV from our hubs in Miami (MIA) and New York (JFK) and will begin service from JFK to New Delhi (DEL) on November 12th. “
American continues to expect flights to both destinations but is waiting for favorable market conditions. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy flying
Still committed to the routes
Both DFW-TLV and SEA-BLR were announced prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. However, the airline has been forced to reschedule these flights due to travel restrictions and near-disappearing international long-haul demand. Nevertheless, both routes are still in the timetable.
Seattle-Bangalore is part of a strategic addition that leverages the Alaska-American partnership. Seattle is the largest hub for Alaska Airlines and, as a city, a major hub for technology and business travel – the kind of travelers who would benefit from nonstop to Bangalore. It will be a head-to-head race against the United-planned San Francisco – Bangalore, which will start at the end of May. While there will be some endpoint connectivity from Bangalore on IndiGo, this route will be largely aided by business demand between the two cities.
Seattle to Bangalore will be part of the airline’s strategy to leverage the strengths of partner hubs to bring more customers to more locations around the world. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy flying
Dallas to Tel Aviv is also part of American’s ongoing strategy to expand its largest hub. This flight will complement America’s New York and Miami flights to Tel Aviv, both announced as American Airlines prepared for the recovery. Given these two services, the Dallas-to-Tel Aviv launch takes a back seat until Israel eases further entry restrictions and allows more tourists to visit the country.
The recovery continues
The recovery from the pandemic was not consistent in all business segments and in all regions of the world. American has stated that there has been a recovery in domestic vacation travel, international short haul travel, and the sustained recovery in domestic business travel. International long-distance transport is starting to recover, but has not recovered as sustainably as in other segments.
American Airlines is getting closer to a recovery in long-haul international travel that could come back next year. Photo: Getty Images
Travel restrictions continue to apply while vaccinations are in progress. India and Israel still have some travel restrictions, although both are expected to open even more next year. Americans hope these flights and trips return in time for spring 2022 and possibly by summer.
It would not be surprising to see further timetable changes such as further delays or a reduction in weekly frequencies. American still sees the potential to serve both routes. The question now is when will travel demand be high enough to support these two long haul routes.
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