American Airlines is operating its most ambitious transatlantic schedule in its history this third quarter. According to scheduled data from aviation analytics provider Cirium, the airline has scheduled more than 6,500 one-way flights to Europe, surpassing its own pre-pandemic peak. The record schedule comes as American has launched several new routes and reinstated services to Europe.

Much of the growth is concentrated at its Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) hubs, although John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) has also seen growth in its European network. The airport is set for further expansion next year, with American adding more nonstop services to Europe. This will give the airline an even larger presence at JFK.

JFK Will Gain Two New European Destinations In American’s 2027 Schedule

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Currently, according to scheduled data, American Airlines operates to eight European cities from JFK: London Heathrow, Barcelona, Paris, Edinburgh, Rome Fiumicino, Madrid, Milan Malpensa, and Athens. The airline will add two more destinations from the airport for next summer, taking its JFK-Europe network to ten cities. From March next year, American is launching nonstop flights to Amsterdam, followed by service to Nice from May; both new routes will be operated by Airbus A321XLR aircraft.

Amsterdam is an established market for American, which already serves the Dutch capital from other parts of its network. The new JFK-Amsterdam service will complement the airline’s existing seasonal flights from DFW and year-round service from PHL. Nice will similarly build on American’s existing presence in southern France, complementing its PHL-Nice route, which was inaugurated in May 2024 with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

London Gets A Fourth Flight

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Furthermore, from March 28, American is bringing back a fourth daily flight between New York-JFK and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) next year. The airline had reduced the route to three daily flights during the winter 2025–2026 schedule while it carried out cabin retrofits on its 777-300ERs. The additional flight will be operated by a 787-9 featuring the carrier’s Flagship Suite seats.

The reintroduced service, AA142 from JFK to LHR and AA141 in the opposite direction, is scheduled to depart New York at 8:50 AM and arrive in London at 9:00 PM, while the return flight will leave Heathrow at 6:05 PM and arrive at JFK at 9:05 PM. Following the commencement of the additional service, the Dallas-based carrier says its joint venture with British Airways will offer up to 14 daily flights between New York and London.

Indeed, London is one of the most important premium international markets in American’s network, which makes the return of another premium-heavy 787-9 to the route unsurprising, although it is not yet clear where the additional slot is coming from. American carries over 570,000 round-trip passengers annually on the JFK-LHR route, which has an average seat load factor of 78%.

American Airlines Is JFK’s Second-Largest Airline For European Flights

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Furthermore, American is now the second-largest airline at JFK for European departures. It has 403 departures planned for July 2027. This will be the airline’s highest level of European departures from the airport since 2017. Its presence on the North Atlantic from New York dates back to the earliest days of scheduled commercial landplane service across the ocean. In October 1945, through its subsidiary American Overseas Airlines, the carrier operated the first scheduled landplane passenger service from New York, then using LaGuardia Airport, to Europe.

The modern era of American’s JFK-Europe network began in July 1991, when the airline launched passenger service between JFK and London Heathrow. The network expanded steadily over the following two decades. American operated services to destinations such as Budapest, Birmingham, Dublin, and Zurich at various points during this period. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a sharp contraction across the airline’s transatlantic network.

The recovery initially focused on the strongest city pairs. After the pandemic, core services to London Heathrow, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Barcelona, Milan, and Athens were restored. These services form the core of American’s JFK-Europe network today.