American Airlines Abandons Unprofitable International Routes

This summer, American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) has been more aggressive than many of its U.S. peers in rebuilding capacity in the domestic market, following an unprecedented demand collapse earlier this year due to COVID-19. The carrier appears to have guessed correctly that many (though hardly all) Americans were eager to get back to normal by resuming leisure travel.

However, American Airlines isn't equally bullish about international travel. Indeed, even before COVID-19, it had been struggling in international markets, with the exception of Latin America. With long-haul travel demand likely to remain depressed for years, American Airlines announced last week that it is pulling the plug on a slew of international routes.

Whereas the marriage of American Airlines and US Airways was fairly successful in the domestic market, it didn't fix either carrier's problems outside the U.S. The combined airline's strongest hubs are in Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C. Long-haul flights are prohibited at American's Washington, D.C. hub, while Dallas-Fort Worth and Charlotte are located too far south and inland to be ideal hubs for trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific service.

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Source Fool.com