American Airlines terminates Dubrovnik service indefinitely

American Airlines has confirmed it will not be resuming operations between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik next year, noting the route has been terminated indefinitely. “Covid-19 has forced us to revaluate our network. American will have a significantly smaller international network in the year ahead, but we are using this opportunity to hit reset and create a network using the strength of our strategic hubs that we can build and grow upon and be profitable on in this new environment”, American’s Chief Revenue Officer, Vasu Raja, said. The carrier was to operate daily seasonal flights to Dubrovnik this year, following last year’s successful launch, which marked the resumption of scheduled nonstop flights between the United Stated and Croatia after more than 25 years.

In response to the prolonged downturn in international travel, American expects summer 2021 long haul international capacity to be down 25% versus 2019. As the airline begins planning for next summer, American said that “several routes that were once popular leisure destinations are expected to exhibit decreased demand”. Brian Znotins, American’s Vice President of Network Planning, said, “American has spent the past few years right-sizing its international network, discontinuing underperforming routes while adding leisure destinations like Dubrovnik and Prague. Now, as demand has significantly diminished due to Covid-19, we have to be nimble, creating the network that our customers desire”. American will continue to offer connections to Dubrovnik next year through its Oneworld alliance partners British Airways via London and Iberia through Madrid.

American Airlines initially scheduled the resumption of its Philadelphia to Dubrovnik service for June 2021 with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. However, as Mr Znotins previously explained, “A flight such as the one from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik saw a huge increase in traffic in recent years, partially because it was a popular filming location for the HBO series Game of Thrones. Airlines ramped up flights to those types of destinations partially because traditional launching point airports in Europe and Asia were full. Until traffic recovers, international travellers will likely have to make a stop in London, Madrid, Rome or Milan before continuing on to Dubrovnik”. Last year, American Airlines handled 17.782 passengers during its four-month service run to Croatia, with an average cabin load factor of 83%.