American Airlines has suspended three European routes and reduced flight frequencies during the peak summer travel season due to ongoing delays in Boeing 787 Dreamliner deliveries.
The changes in its summer schedule come more than a month after the carrier confirmed to Simple Flying that it had been forced to reduce the frequency of some of its long-haul flights and adjust its international long-haul route network for the upcoming spring.
Fewer ways to reach European cities
In a comment to Simple Flying, an American Airlines
spokesperson confirmed the temporary suspension of three routes connecting the United States to Europe. The affected routes are:
- Miami (MIA) to Paris (CDG)
- Dallas (DFW) to Frankfurt (FRA)
- New York (JFK) to Madrid (MAD)
The carrier has extended its temporary suspension of its service between Miami International Airport (MIA) and Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) in June and July 2025. This follows the airline’s earlier decision to temporarily suspend the route starting in May 2025. According to Cirium data, the carrier is scheduled to operate daily flights in January, February, March, and April 2025, with only four flights planned for May.
Photo: Kent Raney | Shutterstock
Among the suspended European routes is the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) route, which American Airlines will temporarily halt in June 2025. Similarly, flights between New York (JFK) and Madrid (MAD) will be temporarily suspended in July 2025.
It is worth noting that the reduced frequencies and flight suspensions are attributed to the ongoing 787 Dreamliner delivery delays. The airline stated:
“As a result of ongoing Boeing 787 delivery delays, American is adjusting service on certain routes in summer 2025 to ensure we are able to re-accommodate customers on affected flights. We’ll be proactively reaching out to our impacted customers to offer alternate travel arrangements and remain committed to mitigating the impact of these Boeing delays while continuing to offer a comprehensive global network.”
Currently, the airline awaits 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner deliveries, according to ch-aviation data.
American Airlines is not the sole carrier offering nonstop flights to these European destinations. For instance, Air France offers direct service between Miami and Paris using its fleet of Boeing 777-300ER widebodies. Germany’s Lufthansa operates its fleet of Airbus A340s to connect the Dallas to Frankfurt route. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines offers direct nonstop flights between JFK and Madrid. Nevertheless, the reduction of American Airlines’ services will result in fewer travel options to key European cities during the highly lucrative summer season.
Reduced frequencies to London Heathrow
In addition to suspending flights, American Airlines has been forced to reduce the number of flights on certain routes, including the highly popular New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) corridor and the Dallas (DFW) to London Heathrow Airport
(LHR) route.
The airline will reduce flights from four to three daily on the JFK to LHR route in May 2025. Meanwhile, the DFW to LHR route will see a reduction from five daily flights to four in May 2025. These flights will be operated using the carrier’s Boeing 777 aircraft.
Boeing 787 delays hamper airline ops
Delays in the delivery of the Boeing 787
Dreamliner have been crippling global airline route networks, and American Airlines is not the only carrier experiencing its effects. In December 2024, British Airways announced it would cut its summer flights between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport (AUH).
Photo: Heather Dunbar | Shutterstock
British Airways scrapped the flights between LHR and Abu Dhabi due to delays in Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines and its part deliveries. Commenting on the news, a British Airways spokesperson said:
“We’re disappointed that we’ve had to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce – particularly concerning the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft.”
Indeed, the industry has been facing supply chain issues over the past few years, primarily due to increased air travel demand and raw material shortages caused by geopolitical tensions (for example, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has impacted titanium supplies).
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The airline will suspend flights between LHR and AUH in the summer of 2025.