American is the world's second-largest airline by the number of airports served, behind United Airlines' 364 (excluding multiple one-offs). Given that it is only January, more developments may be coming, so treat this examination as what it is: a snapshot.
American Eagle's new Mississippi airport
Not far from the Alabama border, Columbus has a small population of around 24,000, rising to 58,000 for Lowndes County. Columbus's airport is located in the so-called Golden Triangle (hence the airport's Golden Triangle name and GTR IATA code), increasing the population to 175,000+.
It is situated about halfway between Tueplo (the birthplace of Elvis) and Meridian—neither of which is served by American—further expanding the catchment, although it remains small. A brochure says the Golden Triangle is home to "a number of Fortune 500 and internationally recognized companies," including Airbus Helicopters. A military base is nearby.
A daily service is coming
American Eagle has scheduled a daily Dallas/Fort Worth to Golden Triangle service beginning on May 5. It will utilize SkyWest's 65-seat CRJ700s.
AA4820 will leave Dallas/Fort Worth at 11:39 and arrive at 13:11 local time. Returning, AA4820 will depart at 13:41 and arrive at 15:30. How it fits into American's wave of flights at its busiest hub is shown below.
American will now fly to three Mississippi airports: Columbus, Gulfport/Biloxi, and Jackson.
Twenty years since the last flight...
It will be the second time the Golden Triangle has had Dallas/Fort Worth flights. According to the US Department of Transportation, it last had them in 2005, when Delta Connection operated using the CRJ200 (and before that, the Embraer EMB-120 Brasília). This period coincided with Delta's then-Dallas/Fort Worth hub.
Which airports have been added?
Using OAG data to compare American's destination list in 2024 and 2025 with that available in 2023 shows that 18 airports have been added—five long-haul—as shown below by the launch month. More airports will join its network later in 2025, but we do not know where yet.
Some 14 of the 18 airports have not previously been served by American or its regional unit. These include Edinburgh, with American's return contributing to the Scottish capital having up to 14 daily flights to North America this year.
Which airports have been removed?
Using the same source to compare airport exits indicates that 11 airports are no longer served, whether permanently or not. Several only had American flights during the pandemic and were perhaps only expected to be short-term additions.
They are organized below by the last month each airport was served. As so few airports have been removed recently—two in 2024 and none thus far coming in 2025—the focus was extended to include 2023.
