American Airlines cut the longest Tel Aviv route in a surprising move

Unsurprisingly, American Airlines is making major adjustments to its long-haul network.

The Fort Worth-based carrier is pulling the Miami to Tel Aviv market effective March 24, 2023, a carrier spokesperson confirmed.

The flights will be pulled from American’s schedule this weekend, and the carrier will offer rebooking options to affected customers after the schedule change is posted.

The 6,603-mile flight is the airline’s longest flight from its Miami hub and will begin operations in June 2021. American initially flew the route eastbound on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays using a 273-seat Boeing 777-200.

The service was so successful that the airline upgraded it to a daily service on October 28, 2022, 16 months after its first service. The route is now operated by the smaller 234-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, but the daily frequency has brought significant potential to the market.

“The initial reception was very strong, but it’s really grown that much. That’s the main driver for us going to daily service,” explained Juan Carlos Liscano, Vice President of America’s Miami Hub, in an interview with ABC10 News. Improved service.

But now, just three months later, American is doing a 180 and canceling the route entirely. When asked for clarification, a carrier spokesperson shared the following statement.

“During an ongoing review of our network, American Airlines has made the difficult decision to discontinue Miami (MIA) – Tel Aviv (TLV) service effective March 24, 2023. We will continue daily service from New York to Tel Aviv. York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK). We are actively contacting customers affected by the changes to offer alternative travel arrangements.

Unfortunately, American isn’t offering much explanation for this shortcut, beyond the usual “continuous review of the network” talking point.

It must have upset some travelers who booked this flight, confident that it would continue to operate every day – especially when an executive spoke publicly about the possibility.

American transits from Miami to Tel Aviv, handing over all non-stop traffic to Israeli flag carrier El Al, which operates three to four weekly frequencies in the market using Boeing 787 Dreamliners, serial schedules show.

That said, American isn’t pulling out of its Tel Aviv base entirely. As mentioned above, the carrier continues to fly there daily from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

Before JFK’s flight, American had not flown to Tel Aviv since January 2016, when it last flew there from Philadelphia. In addition to the JFK service, the airline plans to connect Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami to Israel.

Going from three hubs to service from no flight may seem daunting, but Brian Zenotins, America’s vice president of network planning, explained the reasoning behind each to TPG in February 2021.

Despite much speculation, American has never canceled the Dallas/Fort Worth flight to begin in May 2022.

And now, with the elimination of the Miami service, American has only one flight left from the US to Israel.

This contrasts sharply with recent moves by America’s largest domestic competitors. Delta plans to launch flights from Atlanta to Tel Aviv earlier than planned on March 26, 2023, and launched new service from Boston last summer. Delta resumes flights from New York to Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, United continues to increase service to Israel, with connections from Chicago (four weekly flights) and San Francisco (upgraded to a Boeing 777-300ER) introduced in schedule updates last weekend.

United flies to Tel Aviv from Newark and Washington, DC.