American Airlines Announces 5 New Long-Haul Routes to Europe for Next Summer

The European expansion comes as U.S. carriers trail stronger-performing EU rivals.

An American Airline plane on the runway at the Miami International Airport in Miami, Fla., on Oct. 25, 2024. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

American Airlines has announced that it will add five new long-haul routes to Europe for the summer 2026 travel season, including the only nonstop service from the United States to Budapest, Hungary.

The expansion was detailed in an Aug. 7 press release and includes new seasonal flights from Philadelphia to Budapest and Prague, Czech Republic, along with additional service from Dallas-Fort Worth to Zurich and the Greek capital of Athens. Year-round service from Miami to Milan will also launch next March. All five routes are set to launch between late March and late May 2026.

“Customers continue to tell us that Europe is where they want to go each summer and these new routes make it even easier to cross the Atlantic in 2026,” Brian Znotins, American’s senior vice president of network and schedule planning, said in a statement. “We are excited to grow our network to new destinations like Prague and Budapest and offer even more premium travel experiences on our flights to Tokyo.”

In addition to the European expansion, American said it will extend summer service from Dallas-Fort Worth to Buenos Aires, Argentina, beginning May 21 and running through Aug. 3. Service to Buenos Aires from Miami will also increase to as many as three daily departures during the peak season.

American is also expanding its Asia-Pacific operations. Starting March 29, the carrier will increase premium transpacific capacity to Tokyo by over 45 percent compared to the previous summer, with twice-daily service from Los Angeles and upgraded aircraft on the Dallas-Fort Worth route.

The announcement follows a strong financial quarter for American. In July, the airline reported second-quarter 2025 net income of $599 million on record revenue of $14.4 billion. Atlantic passenger unit revenue rose 5 percent from a year earlier, and total international passenger revenue increased 2.7 percent.

“American delivered record revenue in an evolving demand environment in the second quarter thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team,” American’s CEO, Robert Isom, said in a statement. “We remain confident that the actions we have taken over the past several years to refresh our fleet, manage costs and strengthen our balance sheet position us well for the future.”

American’s announcement on its route expansion to Europe comes as European airlines have significantly outperformed their U.S. counterparts in recent months. Shares of carriers such as Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and British Airways-owner IAG have climbed steadily over the past six months, while American, United, and Delta have struggled under pressure from weaker domestic travel demand and economic uncertainty.