American Airlines decided to take on Frontier Airlines with flights to many of the same destinations.
American will offer nonstop flights from Philadelphia International Airport to four new cities beginning in 2018: San Antonio; Madison, WI; Des Moines; and Omaha. In addition, the airline announced that it would upgrade one of its daily flights to Los Angeles with A‐330‐200 aircraft, increasing capacity on that route.
The San Antonio service will begin February 15, while the flights to Des Moines, Madison and Omaha start on May 4. The PHL‐LAX upgraded frequency starts March 25.
Des Moines will become a new destination not currently served by any carrier at PHL. American is resuming service to San Antonio after a two‐year hiatus.
Frontier Airlines announced plans recently to begin seasonal service to Madison and Omaha. Frontier is currently the only carrier at Philadelphia that offers non‐stop flights to San Antonio.
“We are very excited that American is continuing to bolster its service in Philadelphia,” said Airport CEO Chellie Cameron. “Adding these routes to American’s network at its PHL hub will not only make travel more accessible between these cities, and it will also facilitate connections at American’s transatlantic gateway.”
“These new domestic markets are important and will complement the recently announced international destinations from our Philadelphia hub,” said Vasu Raja, American’s vice president, Network and Schedule Planning. “American offers more non‐stop flights than all other airlines combined at PHL and we are excited to add to that roster.”
In August, American announced new service from PHL to Budapest, Prague and Zurich. American serves 116 destinations from PHL with nearly 400 daily departures.
