Nice Airport Sees 44% US Traffic Growth As American Airlines Adds Philadelphia Flight

Summary

  • US traffic to Nice Airport increased by 44.1% this summer compared to 2023.
  • All three major US carriers now provide seasonal services to Nice.
  • American Airlines’ new route from Philadelphia was a key driver for Nice Airport’s US network growth.

This summer has been particularly busy on the Côte d’Azur in the South of France. The region is famous for its sun, beaches and events (including the world-famous Cannes Film Festival for instance). Indeed this is much to the benefit of

Nice Côte d’Azur International Airport

(NCE), the main gateway to the French Riviera.

US traffic this summer has skyrocketed, with significant growth recorded largely thanks to the addition of American Airlines and its new services from Philadelphia. We take a look at the US services, as all the three big carriers now serve Nice (summer seasonally).

AA NCE 787 landing

Photo: Nice Côte d’Azur Airport

US traffic grows by nearly 50%

Summer 2024 has been an important period for Nice as it welcomes a number of new airlines on the long-haul front. Aside from Etihad Airways’ new Abu Dhabi flight, American Airlines has also introduced a new route from Philadelphia. This new service complements connections to New York and Atlanta with a variety of different carriers. The US network this summer included:

On Monday, Nice Airport announced that it had observed a 44.1% increase in passenger traffic to and from the United States in comparison to the same period in 2023. It also perceived an increase in traffic to and from Canada.

Air Canada

and

Air Transat

both offer seasonal flights to Montreal.

All three major American carriers now fly to Nice

United Airlines Boeing 767-300ER

Photo: Mike Fuchslocher | Shutterstock

With the launch of American Airlines’ Philadelphia flight, all three of the big US carriers now fly to Nice Airport (seasonally). The following is a breakdown of their operation, based on Cirium data for August 2024.

Airline

Destinations from Nice

Aircraft used

Flights per month

American Airlines

Philadelphia

Boeing 787-9

31

United Airlines

Newark

Boeing 767-300

31

Delta Air Lines

New York

Boeing 767-400

31

Delta Air Lines

Atlanta

Boeing 767-400

31

All carriers offered daily services this summer across each of their routes. Indeed, Delta Air Lines dominates in terms of seats on offer between Nice and the US, mainly because it has flights to/from Atlanta and New York. In total, it offers just under 15,000 monthly seats.

It is worth noting that the only other airline flying to the US from Nice is

La Compagnie

which is an all-business class airline that flies Airbus A321neo planes transatlantic. In August, it offered just nine flights on its outbound leg to Newark, offering just 684 seats. Its route capitalizes on the more premium travelers, which are plentiful given NCE is also the gateway to Monaco and the more high-end getaways in the French Riviera.

A strong summer

Overall passenger traffic in July and August 2024 increased by 3.7% relative to last year. Aircraft movements rose by just 2%. The airport describes itself as the “gateway to the region for foreign visitors via direct flights to and from the French Riviera.” Franck Goldnadel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur said the following:

The fleets arriving in our terminals are mainly made up of the latest aircraft, and are almost 86% full. There is therefore still room for improvement. These are important drivers for reducing the environmental impact of a transport method that is essential for opening up our region.

Aerial view of Nice Côte d’Azur Airport.

With traffic achieving levels close to those of summer 2019, we have recovered our momentum, but our facilitiess are reaching saturation levels. This is often problematic despite the efforts of our teams. We hope that the ongoing work to upgrade Terminal 2 will make it possible to welcome visitors to the French Riviera with facilities that are more in line with our region’s needs, once the work is completed next summer.”

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