American Airlines
will be increasing capacity between New York and Madrid next summer. The airline, which has operated its aged Boeing 777-200ER
on the route for years, will upgrade flights to the larger 777-300ER
.
The move comes after the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline
recently introduced the aircraft type on its long-haul route between Charlotte and London
. The 777-300ER not only has more than 30 seats onboard, but more premium seats across a total of four classes.
For nearly two months
Independent aviation blog Ishrion Aviation first reported the development on Saturday. The aircraft substitution will not be permanent; it will last less than two months. The change will begin on June 5, 2025, and run until September 3rd.
Photo: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock
AA94 will depart from American’s hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
just after 19:00, and has a scheduled arrival time of around 08:00 the next day. The return journey, AA95, will leave Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD)
around 10:30 and land back in New York around midday.
|
Flight Number |
Origin |
Departure Time |
Destination |
Arrival Time |
Duration |
Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AA94 |
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) |
19:05 |
Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) |
08:15 (+1) |
7 hours, 10 minutes |
Boeing 777-300ER |
|
AA95 |
Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) |
10:25 |
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) |
12:30 |
8 hours, 5 minutes |
Equipment topsy-turvy
The 777-200ER almost exclusively operated the New York-Madrid route until late October of this year when the 787-8 Dreamliner began to be deployed. The aircraft began operating flights on October 27th and became the American’s only equipment on the route for the entire month of November. This month, the 787-8 is operating all but one of the 60 frequencies between JFK and MAD. According to aviation data and analytics firm Cirium, the 777-200ER returned to the route briefly for one flight last week.
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The carrier will begin deploying the aircraft on the same day Aeromexico will introduce service on the route.
Come January, American will begin to shift all operations back to the aircraft. The 787-8 is only scheduled to operate a total of 13 frequencies – six to Madrid and seven to the Big Apple. On January 8th, all flights will be again operated by the 777-200ER. However, in February, the 787-8 will return and replace the 777-200ER, but the route will not be served daily. Data shows American will take a break and not operate any flights from January 30th to February 12th. On the following day, the 787-8 will restart daily operations.
Photo: Balta Mihaita Sorin | Shutterstock
In March, the 787-8 will handle the majority of frequencies, but the 777-200ER will return at the end of the month. Beginning March 29th, the widebody will become the route’s exclusive operator once again for the remainder of the month, April and May, before the 777-300ER debuts in June.
American’s oneworld Alliance partner, 
Iberia
, also operates the route daily.
Increase of nearly 2,000 monthly seats
The switch to the larger aircraft will provide a total of 18,848 seats throughout the month of July. During the same period last year, when the 777-200ER operated all frequencies, only 16,926 seats were offered. With a total of 304 seats onboard, the 777-300ER has a capacity of 31 more passengers than the 777-200ER’s 273 seats. The change will also represent an increase in premium seats offered as the -300ER is the only widebody in American’s fleet equipped with four classes.
Accompanying the main cabin, premium economy, and Flagship Business is Flagship First – the airline’s most premium class. It comprises only eight lie-flat seats, each with a width of 21.5 inches. Flagship First also features elevated amenities such as private check-in, priority privileges, and chef-inspired dining inside select Flagship Lounge locations.
Photo: American Airlines
Onboard, passengers are pampered with amenity kits featuring travel essentials from Shinola and D.S. & Durga. For sleeping, travelers can stay comfortable with pillows and blankets developed exclusively by Casper, a sleep technology company. Flagship Business on the 777-300ER is somewhat similar regarding the onboard experience. However, the sets are slightly smaller, with a width of 20.5 inches.
According to ch-aviation, American’s 777-300ER fleet consists of 20 examples. Notably, the carrier became the first US airline to operate the aircraft type in 2013. As such, the fleet has an average age of 10.9 years. In contrast, the 777-200ER fleet is larger and much older. American has 47 examples of the aircraft – many of which were delivered between 1999 and 2001, making up an average age of 24.1 years.
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