Canada-China Flights Set to Increase as Restrictions Ease
The Canadian government has lifted pandemic-era caps on flights between Canada and China, paving the way for an increase in…
The airline is adding a batch of new routes, including service to an airport that has never seen scheduled flights before by a U.S. carrier.
American is one of the largest U.S. carriers in the Caribbean and Bahamas, and it even used to operate a hub in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Now, it has added a new and unique route to Turks and Caicos.
The unique aspect of American’s new route to Turks and Caicos is that it doesn’t go to Providenciales or even the country’s second-largest airport which is Grand Turk, it instead goes to the third and smallest airport in the country: South Caicos. The airline has announced that the route will begin on Feb. 15, 2025, and will run twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays to its hub in Miami.
Up until now, every international flight going into the country has landed at Providenciales International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in the nation. In addition to the main airport of Providenciales, there are only two other airports in the country: Grand Turk and South Caicos, but they are both small and see only scheduled flights within the country. The only other airport that can even handle international flights is Grand Turk, but the international flights are charters during the peak tourist season.
South Caicos is a small airport, especially compared to the country’s main airport, and it currently only sees once or twice daily service on InterCaribbean Airways with the 19-seat DeHavilland Twin Otter. The airport itself in South Caicos is small too, with a small single-lane road into and out of the airport and a dirt parking lot, it will presumably need to see some renovations to handle the 76-seat Embraer E175s that American plans on flying there.
The Twin Otter that InterCaribbean flies also has the ability to ground board, while the E175 doesn’t meaning the airport also needs to get airstairs. According to the airport’s website, they have “no immigration or customs personnel at South Caicos” and aircraft “are required to clear customs at Providenciales before continuing to South Caicos.” So the airport has a lot of leg work and preparation ahead of them in the seven months leading up to American’s new flights.
The Consumers Electronics Show, or CES for short, is held every January in Las Vegas, and while none of the three big U.S. airlines have a hub there, they do add limited long-haul routes around the time of the conventions. Delta will usually add a couple of long-haul flights to destinations in Europe along with destinations in Asia.
As first reported by Ishrion Aviation, American has added its long-haul flights for CES 2025. The airline has added routes to both London Heathrow as well as Tokyo Narita from Las Vegas, both of which will see nine round trip flights onboard the airline’s Boeing 777-200 aircraft.
Both routes will operate in the first two weeks of January 2025 with all nine round-trips to each destination being completed between the 3rd and 12th of the month. While American has served Las Vegas to Tokyo in the past, the route to London Heathrow is a new addition.
Last week, the Fort Worth-based airline confirmed that it was cutting a handful of routes as well, including a third daily Los Angeles to London flight and Miami to Santa Ana/Orange County. The airline’s Phoenix-London Heathrow service will also be reduced to seasonal-only.
Joe 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. He’s currently enrolled at Western Michigan University earning a degree in Aviation Management and Operations.
View all postsReceive a daily dose of the airline industry's top stories along with market insights right in your inbox.
The Canadian government has lifted pandemic-era caps on flights between Canada and China, paving the way for an increase in…
Following seven new European route announcements, American is also adding more service to London Heathrow. The carrier is scheduled to operate…
American is doubling down in the U.S.-Italy market with new routes starting next year. The announcement comes just over a…
Receive a daily dose of the airline industry's top stories along with market insights right in your inbox.