American Airlines' Top 10 International Routes: There's A New #1

American Airlines is the world’s largest carrier in multiple respects. It is also the US’s leading international operator, but only by flights. Lower-capacity aircraft and a big emphasis on short-haul international markets mean it is not number one by passengers, seats for sale, or available seat miles.

According to Cirium Diio, American has an average of 394 daily international departures in December (double for both ways). Compared to last December, its offering has jumped by 5%. As such, the oneworld member now operates more than one in six of the US’s international services.

American’s Top 10 International Routes In December

Credit: GCMap

Analysis of the carrier’s December network reveals 284 international airport pairs. They are from 21 hubs, focus cities, and airports. Some 119 non-US airports in 56 countries are served in the festive month.

With 225 one-way flights, Dallas/Fort Worth to Cancun ranks first. You might think that is unsurprising, although it did not make the US’s top international link list. However, it was number two last December, when Miami to Havana was in pole position. While both routes have fewer flights than a year ago, the short link to the Cuban capital is particularly affected, down as it is by 19%.

Notice that the tenth entry was Miami to Cancun, with 135 one-way flights. Spare a thought for Miami to Beef Island, with 134 departures, and Charlotte to Cancun, with 133. Several other markets had a similar number of services.

American Between Dallas/Fort Worth & Cancun

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According to the US Department of Transportation, the airline has served this market for over 35 years. More than 15 million passengers have been transported. Between August 2024 and July 2025, American carried 828,000 round-trip passengers and filled 89% of the available seats. While it competed directly with Frontier, Spirit, and Sun Country, its high frequency meant it had three in four passengers.

Booking data suggests that approximately 70% of American’s 828,000 passengers connected to another flight at Dallas, which is the US’s second-busiest airline hub. Las Vegas-Dallas-Cancun was the most popular segment, followed by Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland (Oregon), Omaha, London (UK), Milwaukee, San Antonio, Oklahoma City (which saw the start of nonstop Cancun flights on November 8, 2025), and Indianapolis.

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Nine routes are from Boston and five are from New York JFK.

One Route Has Entered The Top 10 List

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Let’s compare American’s offerings in December 2024 to what is available in December 2025. Doing so shows that Chicago O’Hare to Toronto Pearson is now in the top ten table. It replaced Charlotte to Cancun.

The carrier’s Canadian route covers 379 nautical miles (702 km) each way. Its offering has increased from 122 monthly departures (two to five daily) to 142 (two to five daily, with more flights running four and five daily). They have risen by 16% in a year.

The growth is part of American’s revival at O’Hare. When all the airline’s flights, domestic and international, from the airport are included, the carrier’s activity has risen by 30% year-over-year. Its international services have risen by three-quarters in just 12 months.

While American’s overall flights from O’Hare remain down compared to before the pandemic in December 2019, its international departures have rebounded strongly. They’re up by 41%. In fact, the carrier has the most international flights from O’Hare in a decade.