Travelers traveling between Boston and Miami on American Airlines usually board a Boeing 737 or Airbus A321 – work planes that cross the country daily.
This spring, some passengers get a major plane upgrade for the 3 1/2 hour flight. American exchanges a Boeing 777, a wide-body jet with 100 more seats, back seat entertainment and other benefits, on some of the flights.
United Airlines passengers may find the same surprise on some flights between Chicago and Las Vegas or Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. United generally uses a Boeing 737 on these routes, but exchanges a Boeing 777 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner on certain flights.
The plane reshuffle is happening across the country due to heavy cuts to international flights by American airlines amid the coronavirus epidemic. American, Delta and United all suspended service between the United States, China and Hong Kong until April and reduced or canceled flights to cities in South Korea, Italy and elsewhere.
“These planes no longer fly (internationally) but pose a financial burden to the airline if they do nothing with them,” said John Grant, senior aviation analyst with travel data and the company. OAG. “Try to use them as effectively as possible logically. ”
Grant analyzed domestic airline flight schedules for the months of March and April and said he did not remember a time when so many large aircraft were used on flights within the United States . (In general, less than 3% of domestic flights are operated with the largest jets.)
In April, United will operate 2,672 domestic flights with wide-body aircraft, up from 1,732 a year ago, an increase of 54%. The US program reports 1,572 domestic wide-body flights, an increase of 37%, and use of Delta will jump 73% to 1,543 domestic flights.
Grant said airlines are cutting schedules to find routes where they can better fill a larger plane. One of the most logical places: the flights between their main hubs, which have a solid mix of local and connecting passengers and many large fuselage flight crews.
OAG’s analysis, for example, shows a sharp increase in the number of flights between Dallas and Chicago. American operates with a larger aircraft in March and April. The same goes for Denver-San Francisco flights on United.
Grant said Delta is moving some of its large bodies in slow motion on popular spring vacation routes, including Atlanta-Phoenix. In March, peak of the Phoenix tourist season thanks to spring Major League Baseball training games and spring break, the airline scheduled 59 flights on an Airbus A330, Boeing 767 or Boeing 777, against 29 in March 2019 and 31 in March 2018.
The A330-300 has nearly 300 seats, including 34 Swank Delta One suites with privacy sliding doors, according to SeatGuru. The Airbus A321 used on other road flights, in comparison, has 192 seats, none of which is flat.
The big beneficiaries of the fanciest planes, of course, are travelers who pay a premium (although this is a reduced premium given the sharp drop in travel demand) for sitting at the front of the plane. They will find reclining seats which are not the norm on their usual American routes. Travelers with elite frequent traveler status can find themselves seated for free thanks to the larger plane and more chances of upgrade.
But all travelers who end up on jumbo jets will benefit, said Grant, by flying on newer planes than before, with more benefits, including improved in-flight entertainment and seats.
Grant said the good times for travelers who love the type of plane should not last. The main American airlines did not suspend or reduce their transpacific flights until the end of April.
And wide-body aircraft could disappear from non-traditional US routes even sooner if demand for domestic travel remains weak or worsens, he said. Southwest Airlines, which operates primarily in the United States, said Thursday it had seen a drop in travel demand similar to that of September 11 in the past week.
American airlines can follow their international counterparts and decide that it is more economical to park the planes. United executives said on Wednesday that the airline will park an undisclosed number of jumbo jets as part of an aggressive plan to deal with the sharp drop in travel demand.
“Enjoy it as much as you can,” said Grant.
