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American Airlines to fly nonstop from D/FW to Madrid
12:00 AM CST on Thursday, December 11, 2008
By TERRY MAXON tmaxon@dallasnews.com
American Airlines Inc. and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport officials are expected to announce today the launch of nonstop service between D/FW and Madrid, Spain.
The new flights, expected to begin in spring 2009, mark a return to that route by American, which operated daily flights between D/FW Airport and Madrid between May 1988 and November 1993.
American and airport officials declined Wednesday to comment on today's announcement, set for a 9 a.m. news conference at the airport's Terminal D. The airport described the event as "a special business announcement, which will bring millions of dollars in new economic impact to the North Texas region."
The new flights would give D/FW Airport five European destinations from the airport to go with American's service to London, Paris and Frankfurt, Germany; British Airways PLC's flights to London; and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' flights to Amsterdam.
American in the past has also flown to Zurich, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium, from Dallas/Fort Worth, but it no longer flies nonstop to those cities from D/FW.
International focus
The new service reflects American's growing reliance on international service and the use of global alliances to make an international flight feasible.
International flights comprised 39 percent of the Fort Worth-based carrier's capacity in November, up from less than 13 percent in 1988 and 27 percent in 2001.
Even while it cut its domestic system 15 percent last month compared to a year earlier, American still expanded its international flying 1.3 percent.
American's competitors have been even more aggressive with international service. Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Inc. now operate about 49 percent of their capacity on international routes, United Airlines Inc. is close to 44 percent and Delta Air Lines Inc. is at 43 percent.
What makes the Madrid flight more attractive now than 20 years ago when it was launched is that American now has a strong partner, Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España SA, which operates its largest hub at Madrid Barajas International Airport.
American and Iberia are both members of the Oneworld global airline alliance that also includes British Airways, Finnair Oy, Japan Airlines, Qantas Airways Ltd, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Royal Jordanian Airlines among others.
Hint at service
Joe Lopano, D/FW Airport executive vice president for marketing and terminal management, held out the possibility for Madrid service when he briefed the board in September about how the proposed alliance might help D/FW.
"We think there's an opportunity for us to get service from D/FW to Madrid and have connecting service over the Madrid hub on Iberia," Mr. Lopano said then.
Dallas News
American Airlines to fly nonstop from D/FW to Madrid
12:00 AM CST on Thursday, December 11, 2008
By TERRY MAXON tmaxon@dallasnews.com
American Airlines Inc. and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport officials are expected to announce today the launch of nonstop service between D/FW and Madrid, Spain.
The new flights, expected to begin in spring 2009, mark a return to that route by American, which operated daily flights between D/FW Airport and Madrid between May 1988 and November 1993.
American and airport officials declined Wednesday to comment on today's announcement, set for a 9 a.m. news conference at the airport's Terminal D. The airport described the event as "a special business announcement, which will bring millions of dollars in new economic impact to the North Texas region."
The new flights would give D/FW Airport five European destinations from the airport to go with American's service to London, Paris and Frankfurt, Germany; British Airways PLC's flights to London; and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' flights to Amsterdam.
American in the past has also flown to Zurich, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium, from Dallas/Fort Worth, but it no longer flies nonstop to those cities from D/FW.
International focus
The new service reflects American's growing reliance on international service and the use of global alliances to make an international flight feasible.
International flights comprised 39 percent of the Fort Worth-based carrier's capacity in November, up from less than 13 percent in 1988 and 27 percent in 2001.
Even while it cut its domestic system 15 percent last month compared to a year earlier, American still expanded its international flying 1.3 percent.
American's competitors have been even more aggressive with international service. Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Inc. now operate about 49 percent of their capacity on international routes, United Airlines Inc. is close to 44 percent and Delta Air Lines Inc. is at 43 percent.
What makes the Madrid flight more attractive now than 20 years ago when it was launched is that American now has a strong partner, Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España SA, which operates its largest hub at Madrid Barajas International Airport.
American and Iberia are both members of the Oneworld global airline alliance that also includes British Airways, Finnair Oy, Japan Airlines, Qantas Airways Ltd, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Royal Jordanian Airlines among others.
Hint at service
Joe Lopano, D/FW Airport executive vice president for marketing and terminal management, held out the possibility for Madrid service when he briefed the board in September about how the proposed alliance might help D/FW.
"We think there's an opportunity for us to get service from D/FW to Madrid and have connecting service over the Madrid hub on Iberia," Mr. Lopano said then.
Dallas News