They say that summer bodies are made in the winter, and if you want to look beach ready, start dieting and exercising in February.
Similarly, while summer is just on the horizon, airlines are already making plans for the winter, as travel schedules need to be set well ahead of time.
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As such, American Airlines (AAL) has made a number of changes to its October schedule, including dropping a major route.
Starting on Oct. 27, American Airlines will no longer fly nonstop from Seattle to London for the rest of the winter. It’s unclear if the route will resume next year.
Thanks to this change, American will not be flying any international routes from Seattle next winter, a major hit for the Pacific Northwest market.
It’s hard to say what the rationale is for the move, but The Points Guy speculates that “the Seattle business market — buoyed by tech companies such as Amazon and Microsoft — is facing challenging economic conditions, leading to tightened budgets, especially for travel.”
Additionally, thanks to the rise of remote working, business travel has fallen sharply, which could be impacting the need for international flights.
American Is Bringing Back This Special Route
But it’s not all bad news for international travelers, as American Airlines has announced that starting on Dec. 21st, it will resume its flight between Los Angeles and Auckland, New Zealand.
The 6,504-mile route will be available on a daily basis from Dec. 21 through Feb. 14, 2024, and on a three-times-weekly basis from Feb. 14, 2024, through March 3, 2024.
“As customers begin to plan their winter vacations, American Airlines is pleased to announce the return of service between Los Angeles and Auckland starting this December,” said the airline in a statement.
“Complementing daily service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Auckland, American will offer up to two daily flights from Auckland this winter, giving customers more flexibility with one-stop connections to over 200 destinations across our global network."
