I’m definitely not the only airline nerd paying attention to the route changes airlines (quietly) file each weekend.
Last weekend, Delta Air Lines added a new nonstop flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Now, possibly in response to that, American Airlines added more flights to one of Delta’s key hubs. The carrier is also adding four new routes to the mid-Atlantic and will resume a suspended transatlantic route.
American will upgrade its Philadelphia to Salt Lake City route from seasonal to (mostly) year-round service, as first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.
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This route, much like Delta’s from last week, touches a rival’s key hub — in this case, Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) — and originates from American’s big northeastern gateway at PHL.
While it’s certainly possible that demand patterns have evolved enough to warrant a nearly 80% increase in flights, the network planning folks in Fort Worth may also be trying to get back at Delta for its latest transcon foray in Philly — a fortress hub for American. After all, just look at the back-to-back timing of the announcements these past two weeks.
Delta’s new nonstop from SEA — one of its key West Coast hubs — to PHL is an incursion into American’s turf that will likely poach some American flyers. Now, American’s response will likely do the same.
American’s flights are timed for connections at PHL, and so are Delta’s for connections at SEA. Turf wars are common in the airline industry, and it’ll be interesting to see how these routes perform for both airlines.
Transcon flying isn’t cheap — it’s not like American (or Delta) is adding service to some local city with a regional jet. These five-hour or longer flights require dedicating a full airplane for at least 12 hours of the day. In American’s case, it’s even parking the airplane overnight at SLC, effectively dedicating a full aircraft to this route.
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In addition to the upgraded service, American will add four new routes: two to Greenbrier Valley Airport (LWB) in Lewisburg, West Virginia, and two to Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (SHD) in Weyers Cave, Virginia. SHD sits near Shenandoah National Park, as well as the nearby Virginia cities of Harrisonburg and Staunton.
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Both LWB and SHD will be served by American Eagle regional affiliate SkyWest Airlines from Charlotte and Chicago.
Service begins on Feb. 3, 2026, to SHD, and a week later to LWB.
Furthermore, American will officially resume daily service to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv for the summer season on March 28, 2026. The airline will bring back its nonstop service from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, but there is no word on whether it might have a change of heart about service from Miami or Dallas-Fort Worth.
Interestingly, Tel Aviv remains a resilient and prosperous market for (at least) one of the Big Three competitors. Earlier this month, United announced that it would offer up to three daily flights from Newark to Tel Aviv, joining soon-to-resume service from Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Delta also flies to Tel Aviv from New York, and it hasn’t announced when it might resume flights there from Atlanta and Boston.
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