American Airlines Gears Up for a Record-Breaking Summer as Delta Expands Transatlantic Routes

American Airlines is preparing for what it's calling the busiest summer in its 100-year history, projecting 75 million customers across roughly 750,000 flights between May 21 and September 8, surpassing the airline's previous record set in 2019. The carrier's busiest single day of the summer is expected to be July 17, with nearly 7,000 flights scheduled.

To handle the surge, American performed offseason preventive maintenance across its fleet, expanded staffing in key hub cities, and added new international routes, including service from Philadelphia to Budapest and Prague, and new long-haul flights connecting Dallas-Fort Worth to Athens and Zurich and Miami to Milan.

Delta is expanding just as aggressively on the transatlantic side, operating more than 650 weekly flights to nearly 30 European destinations this summer, the largest transatlantic schedule in the airline's history. The buildout reflects continued strong demand for international leisure travel even as domestic fare growth has cooled.

Both airlines' expansion comes even as the industry navigates rising fuel costs and new baggage fees, a sign that carriers are betting demand for summer travel remains resilient regardless of the additional costs being passed on to passengers.