Oneworld carrier, American Airlines is one of the US' 'Big Three' airlines and is the largest in the world by scheduled passenger carried, and daily flights. The carrier, which has several subsidiaries, operates a robust international and domestic network to over 350 destinations across 48 countries.
Operating more than 6,800 flights daily, the mammoth airline uses its team of over 100,000 staff to cater to half a million passengers it handles daily.
American Airlines can trace its roots back to the 1930s when it became a union of eighty small regional airlines. Two organizations originating from the union were Robertson Aircraft Corporation and Colonial Air Transport, which became American Airways.
Throughout the following years, additional laws and attrition forced airline restructuring, which then developed the then American AIrways to rename itself American Airlines, and was fully developed between 1970 to 2000.
Today, as noted, American Airlines is one of the world's largest, with a growing fleet of almost 1,000 aircraft. Its Chief Executive Officer, Robert Isom, can trace his roots with the airline he now runs back to his younger years working at America West Airways, which eventually became part of US Airways and American Airlines. Isom became president of American Airlines in 2016 before succeeding Doug Parker as CEO.
Multiple hubs across the United States
With half a million passengers daily (that's more than the entire population of the Asian country of Brunei Darussalam), American Airlines maintains hubs at several airports across the United States; these include:
- Charlotte
- Chicago–O’Hare
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York–JFK
- New York–LaGuardia
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix–Sky Harbor
- Washington–National
Using data from the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics , Simple Flying examined the busiest domestic markets between August 2023 and July 2024.
1 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
24.07 million passengers
American Airlines calls Fort Worth, Texas, home, so the airline's dominance at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is not surprising. Due to the number of operations at the Texan hub, it is one of the busiest in the world in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft movements. It remains only behind Delta Air Lines and its home in Atlanta, Georgia, as the second-largest single airline hub.
Between August 2023 and July 2024, American Airlines operations at Dallas demanded a 67.71% share of the airport's domestic operations, representing 24.07 million passengers annually.
The airline's list of domestic destinations is quite extensive, as it provides non-stop services to all major US airports and many regional cities across the mainland United States and Hawaii. Given the airline's large presence in Dallas, it's no surprise the airline operates a number of its Admirals Clubs at the airport, located in:
- Terminal A (near gate A24)
- Terminal B (between gates B3 and B4)
- Terminal C (between gates C19 and C20) - Executive Centre is also located here
- Terminal D (near gate D24)
- Terminal E (Mezzanine Level)
2 Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
17.72 million passengers
American Airlines' second busiest domestic airport is Charlotte, North Carolina. The airport, which gained the most traction for American Airlines following its acquisition of US Airways, sees the airport rocket to second place. With 17.72 million domestic passengers using the airport in the last year, this represents 68.87% of total domestic enplaned passengers.
For loyal American Airlines passengers, Charlotte is home to two Admirals Clubs located:
- Concourse B (between gates 3 and 5)
- Concourse C (Interseciton of Concourse C, and D)
In 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration completed the construction of a new 370-foot tall control tower, making it the second tallest in the United States and the ninth globally.
3 Miami International Airport (MIA)
8.59 million passengers
Miami is the third largest domestic base for American Airlines, enplaning 8.59 million passengers over the last year.
The carrier maintains almost half of all domestic flights at MIA, at 57.86%. The carrier, which also uses Miami as a transit point for many services to the Caribbean, Latin, and South America, continues to see passenger numbers grow at the airport.
In Miami, there are two Admirals Clubs, both located in the North Terminal:
- D-30 (across from gate D30)
- D-15 (on the third floor above gate D15).
4 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
7.89 million passengers
Heading west, Phoenix is American Airlines' largest domestic hub on the western side of the United States. Serving the state of Arizona, PHX welcomed 7.89 million passengers with American Airlines between August 2023 and July this year.
Overall, this represents 32.07% of all domestic passengers. The airport is one of the largest and busiest in the United States. It serves as a hub for American, Frontier, and Southwest Airlines.
Given the high patronage of American Airlines passengers, Admirals Clubs are located:
- Concourse A (between gates A7 and A9)
- Concourse A (between gates A19 and A21)
- Concourse B (between gates B5 and B7)
5 Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
6.84 million passengers
In fifth place is the American Airlines hub at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. This location is integral for the airline's operations in the Midwest, and between August 2023 and July 2024, the airline transported 6.84 million passengers through the airport.
Representing 16.82% of total passengers at ORD, American Airlines uses Terminal 3 as the base of its Chicago operations, perfectly aligned with many other Oneworld Alliance members who provide international operations to the airport.
For those looking to relax in the Admirals Club before their next departure at ORD, these can be located in Terminal 3, near the below concourse:
- Concourse G (across from gate G8)
- Concourse H (between gates H6 and K6)
- Concourse L (before gate L1)
