US major American Airlines will offer more domestic services from Miami International Airport (MIA) next spring, further strengthening one of the carrier’s key hubs and providing more access for customers across the airline's growing global network. The growth will boost its network from Miami to more than 130 domestic and international destinations with strong connection opportunities into Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America.
The carrier will launch service to four new markets during the first quarter of 2015 with daily direct flights from Miami International Airport to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Kansas City International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport and San Antonio International Airport. These flights will commence on March 5, 2015 and will be flown by a Boeing 737-800.
"We are very excited to announce these new routes, which will give our customers more travel options to and from Miami and better opportunities to connect to our vast network in Latin America," said Marilyn DeVoe, vice president – Miami, American Airlines. "As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Miami hub, these new routes further underscore Miami's importance and our commitment to its growth."
American Airlines will be the sole carrier to provide non-stop operations on these routes and will bring back direct flights to Kansas City and Salt Lake City markets, which have both previously been served from Miami over the last ten years. AirTran Airways, now part of Southwest Airlines, previously operated flights between Miami and Kansas City between November 2007 and August 2008, while Delta Air Lines flew between Miami and Salt Lake City up until September 2006.
The new routes were revealed as American Airlines celebrated the departure of the first regular scheduled service between the United States and Cap Haïtien, a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haïti. The daily flight from Miami, operated by a 737-800, was launched on October 2, 2014 and supplements American’s longstanding services to Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city of the Caribbean country.
"Congratulations to our partners at American Airlines on an exciting day that includes the launch of new daily Miami-Cap-Haitien service and the announcement of future daily service from Miami International Airport to four exciting US destinations," said Miami-Dade Aviation Department Director, Emilio T Gonzalez. "Miami International Airport's partnership with American Airlines is a strong one and together we are connecting Miami to more of the world than ever before."
In our analysis, below, we look at departure capacity from Miami International Airport over the past ten years. The data from OAG Schedules Analyser shows that overall capacity from the airport has grown 6.1 per cent between 2004 and 2013 with available seats set to increase 1.1 per cent in 2014 (versus 2013) based on published timetables for the remainder of the year.
American Airlines has seen its own capacity grow 15.9 per cent between 2004 and 2013, increasing to 17.5 per cent when you include its regional partners. In 2004 the carrier had a 61.7 per cent share of departure capacity from Miami International Airport, increasing to 68.3 per cent in 2013, 70.7 per cent when you include the network of US Airways.