Summary
- Four North American passenger carriers (Air Canada, American, Delta, and United) fly to the Middle East.
- They have 11 routes, down from the planned 13, as Air Canada’s two Tel Aviv services are no longer bookable.
- Four Middle Eastern cities see the quartet’s frames.
Delta and the startup Riyadh Air plan to partner. As part of this, Delta will reportedly fly to Riyadh, although no timeframe is given. It will be the only North American carrier flying to the Saudi capital. In 2024, Delta is one of four US/Canadian airlines operating between North America and the Middle East.
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North American carriers’ Middle East ops
Air Canada, American, Delta, and United have 11 Middle East routes, summarized below. It is down from the previously anticipated 13 routes as Air Canada’s two Israel airport pairs are not bookable and are therefore excluded.
The four carriers only have about one out of nine July-September flights to the region (11%). That reflects Air Canada’s continued suspension of Israel flights, other airlines not resuming Tel Aviv services until the end of October (subject to the war), and the reintroduction of other winter links.
Photo: The Bold Bureau | Shutterstock
In November and December, when the 11 routes are due to be operational, the quartet’s share is forecast to be one in six (17%). Not that it’ll ever be substantial. After all, most US/Canada-Middle East services are operated by the Gulf giants to feed their hubs. While increasingly partnering with them, the North American operators won’t ever come close. Not that that matters or is what’s intended.
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There have been significant changes.
Air Canada had planned to resume Toronto-Tel Aviv on August 6 and Montreal-Tel Aviv on August 12. While still scheduled, neither route is bookable, so they don’t appear below or in the flight share figures above. While subject to change, all the routes mentioned below are bookable.
|
Airline |
Routing (flights, aircraft) |
Comments (dates refer to leaving North America) |
|---|---|---|
|
Air Canada |
Toronto-Dubai (daily 787-9, 777-300ER in winter) |
In partnership with Emirates |
|
Air Canada |
Vancouver-Dubai (four weekly 787-9) |
Winter seasonal. In partnership with Emirates |
|
American |
New York JFK-Tel Aviv (daily 777-200ER) |
Due to resume on October 26 |
|
American |
Philadelphia-Doha (daily 787-9) |
In partnership with Qatar Airways. American switched from JFK, replacing Qatar Airways at Philadelphia |
|
Delta |
New York JFK-Tel Aviv (daily A330neo) |
|
|
United |
Chicago O’Hare-Tel Aviv (four weekly 787-8) |
Due to resume on October 26 |
|
United |
Newark-Dubai (daily 777-200ER) |
In partnership with Emirates |
|
United |
Newark-Tel Aviv (double daily 787-10) |
|
|
United |
San Francisco-Tel Aviv (daily 777-200ER) |
Due to resume on October 26 |
|
United |
Washington Dulles-Amman (three weekly 787-8) |
|
|
United |
Washington Dulles-Tel Aviv (three weekly 787-8) |
Due to resume on October 27 |
United to Jordan
The odd route out is United between Washington Dulles and the Jordanian capital of Amman. The 5,183 nautical mile (9,599 km) service is United’s third-longest airport pair from Dulles, behind Cape Town and Tokyo Haneda.
Amman flights launched in May 2022 when airlines, including United, experimented with new opportunities given freed-up aircraft because of the pandemic. At the time, Washington DC was Amman’s largest unserved North American market by indirect passengers and had among the highest fares in the market.
Photo: United
Passengers traveled for friends and relatives reasons, growing tourism, and US embassy and government travel. They were also bound for nearby countries, including Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Jordan is a relatively safe country in the region and is keen to develop.