American Shifts Doha Route to Philadelphia

Dallas-based American Airlines has decided to alter one of its long-haul international routes, but instead of changing a schedule or aircraft, it is changing the hub it will operate from. Starting Oct. 29, 2023, they will be moving its JFK-Doha route to its Philadelphia hub.

The route will continue to operate daily and on board the carrier’s Boeing 777-300ER. This does make sense for the carrier from a connection standpoint, as Philadelphia does offer more connections in the United States on American, as well as the fact that Philadelphia is already the airline’s main transatlantic hub, which this Qatar route will strengthen.

American will be competing with its partner Qatar, as that airline already offers a daily nonstop flight between these two cities. But, given that they are already partners, they now offer a second daily flight, one on each airline, that can seamlessly connect passengers to each other’s networks; American’s in Philadelphia and Qatar’s in Doha.

The move of American’s Doha route away from JFK could be due to the airline terminating its alliance between them and JetBlue. As American did start the Doha route about six months before the American-JetBlue partnership began in early 2021, and JFK is one of JetBlues main hubs.

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Joey Gerardi

Joey has always been interested in planes, for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Central New York during the early 2000s when US Airways Express turboprops ruled the skies. Being from a non-aviation family made it harder for him to be around planes and would only spend about three hours a month at the airport. He was so excited when he could drive by himself and the first thing he did with the license was get ice cream and go plane spotting for the entire day. When he has the time (and money) he likes to take spotting trips to any location worth a visit but has a special interest in Essential Air Service Airports. He got his degree in Aviation Management and Operations from WMU in June of 2022, and is currently working full time for an airline in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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