American airlines reduces flights to Argentina, Brazil and Chile

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – American Airlines announced a few days ago that it would reduce its operations on several routes as of March 2022, affected by the lack of aircraft to cover the destinations.

Boeing’s flagship product, the 787 Dreamliner, has stalled deliveries for nearly a year following production problems with the model. “Without these aircraft we simply will not be able to operate at the level we had planned,” noted Vasu Raja, American’s chief revenue officer, in an internal company memo obtained by Reuters’ David Shepardson.

American, like several companies around the world, has bet on Boeing’s widebody as a mainstay of its long-haul operations. Early last year, with the outbreak of the pandemic, American accelerated the retirement of its older aircraft, confident of a steady pace of 787 deliveries to replace them. This did not happen: the airline took delivery of just one aircraft during a brief resumption of deliveries in early 2021, in which it was the only unit received for the year.

The reduction in flights coincides with the return of several routes to Europe and the seasonal low season. Therefore, the adjustment may benefit some destinations, but for some markets such as Argentina, Brazil and Chile it will mean a major blow.

According to data obtained through the booking system and confirmed by the Cirium platform, the following routes that will be affected are:

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE); reduced from 7 to 3 weekly flights, with Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – Santiago de Chile (SCL); reduces from 7 to 3 weekly flights; replaces Boeing 777-200ER with Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – Sao Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU); one flight daily; replaces Boeing 787-9 with Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Miami (MIA) – Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE); reduces from 14 to 10 weekly flights, with Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Miami (MIA) – Sao Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU); reduces from three to two daily flights, replaces Boeing 777-200ER with Boeing 787-8 aircraft, maintains one Boeing 777-300ER flight.
New York (JFK) – Rio de Janeiro (GIG); route suspended as of April 2022.
New York (JFK) – São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU); one daily flight, replaces Boeing 777-300ER with Boeing 777-200ER.

In all cases, the new schedule will be effective March and April 2022, and is subject to change.