American Airlines To Launch Phoenix-Jacksonville Route

American Airlines Airbus A320
Credit: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo

American Airlines will add two routes from its Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) hub in November, including new flights to Jacksonville, Florida.

From Nov. 5, the airline will open service between PHX and Jacksonville International Airport (JAX). The route, to be exclusive to American, will be operated daily with an Airbus A320 aircraft.

JAX CEO Mark VanLoh says in a statement that PHX is the largest U.S. market not served from the Florida airport, noting: “Strong business ties between Jacksonville and Phoenix were one of the contributing factors for adding the new service. Both cities are home to Mayo Clinic campuses.” 

On the same day as launching the PHX-JAX route, American will also restart service between Sky Harbor and Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) in Kansas. The route was last flown by the carrier in September 2020. The PHX-ICT service will be operated daily with a Bombardier CRJ-700 configured to carry 65 passengers. 

“Phoenix is the second-most popular destination from Wichita, but has been without daily service since September 2020,” ICT says in a statement. “The flight schedule is designed to be convenient for business travelers with a morning departure and an evening return.”

According to PHX, American will operate 12% more daily flights and 4% more seats from the Arizona airport in the 2023-24 winter season year-over-year. The airline’s winter schedule will include 263 average daily flights from PHX to 94 destinations.

“American’s announcement of their largest winter schedule [from PHX] in nearly a decade is wonderful news and it really speaks to their continued confidence in the Phoenix market,” PHX Director Chad Makovsky says. “American is an essential business partner ... We’re also excited to see American will be launching nonstop service to Jacksonville, Florida, an entirely new market for us.”

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.