American Airlines will add Vienna and Reykjavik to its European network in spring 2027 as it expands transatlantic flying from Philadelphia and deploys its growing Airbus A321XLR fleet on five routes.
The carrier will launch daily seasonal service from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Vienna International Airport on May 6, followed by daily flights to Reykjavik Keflavik International Airport (KEF) from May 27.
Vienna will be a new destination for American and mark its first service to Austria. The route will be operated using 155-seat A321XLR aircraft, making the Oneworld alliance member the only U.S. carrier serving Vienna nonstop.
The Reykjavik route will use an Airbus A321neo and sees American return to Iceland for the first time since 2019, when it served KEF from Dallas-Fort Worth. Both new services will feed the carrier’s PHL hub, providing connections across its U.S. network.
American will also begin its previously announced daily seasonal Philadelphia-Porto service on March 28. The A321XLR route will make Porto the airline’s second destination in Portugal, alongside its year-round Philadelphia-Lisbon operation.
At 4,322 mi. (3,756 nm), PHL-VIE will become the farthest route operated using an A321XLR, eclipsing Iberia’s 4,155 mi. (3,611 nm) service between Madrid and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
“Each summer, we want to offer our customers from both the U.S. and Europe the opportunity for new adventures,” says American International Operations Vice President José A. Freig. “Next year, adding Reykjavik, Vienna and Porto to our portfolio gives our customers even more amazing destinations to explore.”
Sabre Market Intelligence data shows Vienna was the largest local market of American’s three Philadelphia additions in 2025, with about 6,148 O&D passengers, compared with 5,336 for Porto and 3,156 for Reykjavik.
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, American will enter a U.S.-Vienna market dominated by Austrian Airlines. Airlines offered about 592,100 two-way seats between the U.S. and Vienna during summer 2026, down 6.1% year over year but 6.5% above summer 2019. Austrian accounted for approximately 98% of summer 2026 capacity, serving Boston, Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, New York John F. Kennedy (JFK), Newark and Washington Dulles. American’s Philadelphia route will therefore add a seventh U.S. gateway to the Vienna market.
The U.S.-Iceland market has experienced a sharper contraction. OAG data shows capacity fell 12.8% year over year to about 1.6 million two-way seats in summer 2026 as the number of routes declined from 18 to 16. Icelandair remained the dominant operator with a 79.3% share, followed by Delta Air Lines at 10.6%, United Airlines at 8% and Alaska Airlines at 2.1%. American’s entry will restore a fifth U.S. carrier to the market, following the closure of Icelandic LCC Play in 2025.
Alongside the three Philadelphia additions, American will launch daily year-round A321XLR service between JFK and Amsterdam on March 28. The route will put it alongside Delta and KLM in a market that had about 511,200 two-way seats during summer 2026.
Daily seasonal JFK-Nice flights will follow on May 6 using the A321XLR, competing with Delta. American will also add daily seasonal service between Charlotte and Barcelona from May 27 with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. The route is not served nonstop during summer 2026, according to OAG data.
At London Heathrow, American will restore a fourth daily JFK flight from March 28 using a premium-configured Boeing 787-9. American and joint venture partner British Airways will offer as many as 14X-daily flights between New York and London.
Overall, American plans to operate more than 80 peak daily transatlantic flights from U.S. gateways during summer 2027 and serve 23 European cities.
The expansion builds on growth recorded during summer 2026. OAG data shows American offered about 7.4 million two-way seats between the U.S. and Europe, up 3.8% year over year. Its market share increased from 11% to 11.5%, despite overall U.S.-Europe capacity declining 0.6% to about 64.8 million two-way seats.
American’s A321XLR will operate five transatlantic routes during summer 2027: Philadelphia-Porto, Philadelphia-Vienna, JFK-Amsterdam, JFK-Nice and JFK-Edinburgh. The airline launched its first international XLR service between JFK and Edinburgh during summer 2026.
Outside Europe, American will launch previously announced daily year-round service between Chicago O’Hare and Tokyo Narita using 787-9s after a seven-year absence.
The new European service comes days after United announced plans for its incoming A321XLR fleet. The Star Alliance member has announced 10 new international destinations for summer 2027, including XLR-operated routes to Luxembourg, Toulouse, Ibiza, Valencia and Marseille.
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