American Airlines is scrapping its last remaining international flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), marking an end to a multi-year experiment.
Seattle Loses Last International Flight On American Airlines
To great surprise, American Airlines announced plans to add longhaul service from Seattle in February 2020, announcing service to:
- Bengaluru, India (BLR)
- London (LHR)
- Shanghai (PVG)
Shortly thereafter the pandemic began and all three routes were put on hold. Even after the pandemic receded, the war in Ukraine made Russian airspace off-limits and meant the Bengaluru route never launched.
With continued Chinese slot restrictions and COVID-19 precautions, the Shanghai route also never launched.
London did launch in 2021 and operated through this summer, though has been suspended this winter.
But now American Airlines has pulled its London flight from the schedule: the flight will not resume next spring, marking an end to SEA’s status as an international “hub.”
Zach Griff reports that the LHR slot will be used to add an additional daily service from Miami (MIA).
British Airways will continue to operate the Seattle – London routes as a oneworld and joint venture partner. Finnair also operates seasonal service from Seattle to Helsinki (HEL). Virgin Atlantic and Delta also operate the SEA-LHR route.
What Happened To AA In Seattle?
We don’t know if this route was unprofitable, but we do know that AA determined it made more sense to operate an extra MIA-LHR segment than from SEA.
I tend to agree with One Mile At A Time that the problem for AA was timing. The pandemic, war in Ukraine, and slow return of business travel seem to have dampened demand and viability for longhaul flights on American from Seattle.
However, I also think that AA failed to properly advertise and promote its SEA-LHR route. Many locals did not even know the service existed, which makes it hard to fill aircraft at premium prices. Furthermore, people in Seattle are fiercely loyal to Alaska Airlines or Delta Air Lines. While Alaska and American are partners, there was no seamless integration of this route into Alaska’s schedule, which hindered connecting traffic.
Furthermore, let’s not forget that American (more so than Delta and United) is experiencing a widebody aircraft shortage. The shortage means some profitable routes may have to be cut for more profitable ones.
Let’s not call Seattle dead for American Airlines just yet, but it appears AA has abandoned the Pacific Northwest hub.
CONCLUSION
American Airlines will not resume its Seattle – London flight in the spring. As a result, AA will no longer operate longhaul international flights from SEA. While this represents another failed attempt at West Coast growth (LAX didn’t work either), the failure of all three routes makes sense in the context of the events unfolding in the news.
image: Nathan Coats