American adds new LAX service, bolsters 4 routes in hub shakeup
We didn’t have to wait long to find out how American Airlines is shaking up its route map in Los Angeles.
Just minutes after TPG reported the carrier was planning a route announcement at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), American revealed its plans. And there’s both good and bad news for AA flyers in Southern California.
Most notably, the carrier plans to bolster its service on four routes to major U.S. cities.
It’s also bringing back a route to Colorado that it hasn’t offered in a half-decade.
Plus, American will end service to two cities from LAX.
All told, Friday’s changes cover nine routes from its West Coast hub. Here’s what to know.
Resuming service to Grand Junction
American confirmed it’s bringing back service to Grand Junction, Colorado, for the first time in five years.
It will operate seasonal regional service from LAX between May 27 and Aug. 9 with a Bombardier CRJ700.
American last operated LAX service to Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) in 2021, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
In 2027, this route will effectively replace American’s flight to Colorado’s Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE), which will be closed next summer for construction.
American will fly its LAX-GJT route with one of its smaller CRJ-700 aircraft.
More regular LAX service on 2 additional routes
Elsewhere, American will turn to two routes it’s previously offered seasonally — and sporadically —from LAX into more regular service:
- Reno, Nevada, flights will operate year-round, three times per day beginning May 27.
- Bozeman, Montana, service will return on a seasonal basis next summer, from May 27 through Aug. 9
Both routes will operate with an Embraer 175 regional jet.
4 key US cities get more flying
Starting next spring, American will also add extra daily flights from LAX to several major U.S. cities.
Denver, Las Vegas and Seattle will all get additional frequencies. Plus, American will double its daily service on one transcontinental route — from LA to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).
Starting in May, American will offer twice-daily Dulles service. That’ll make the IAD-LAX routes a stronger complement to AA’s cross-country Los Angeles service from nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
2 route cuts from LAX
It’s not all good news.
American will cut ties with its LAX route to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) effective Feb. 11.
That same day, it will also end service to Des Moines, Iowa.
American’s big-picture plans at LAX
This network revamp in LA comes a day after American executives said the carrier was rethinking the routes it offers at its Southern California hub.
American’s LAX service today sharply lags the flight offerings it had at the airport in 2019.
Speaking Thursday, American’s chief commercial officer, Nat Pieper, said the airline would aim to offer more flights from LAX to major U.S. cities in a push to win more L.A.-based flyers.
“We’re going to grow and we’re going to invest in the local market,” he said, speaking Thursday at the Skift Aviation Forum in New York.
That expansion, Pieper noted, will be gradual — and ramp up — as infrastructure work at LAX progresses over the next two years.
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