US Big 3 Airlines' South American Operations: A Comparative Analysis

South America is a key international market for the ‘big three’ legacy carriers in the United States: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, this trio of operators has collectively scheduled a grand total of 3,548 flights on routes to and from South America this month. These will offer 795,351 seats and 2,875,783,576 ASMs.

In this article, we will compare the size of these three airlines’ operations in South America, and take a closer look at the wide variety of aircraft that they use to serve these routes. An interesting point to note straight off the bat is the fact that American Airlines has scheduled more flights on its routes to and from South America this month than Delta Air Lines and United combined.

Delta Air Lines

Of the big three, Delta Air Lines has the smallest South American operation this month, with 661 flights, 169,034 seats, and 679,563,222 ASMs. These services are split between 244 with the Airbus A330-900, 148 with the A330-300, 120 with the Boeing 757-200, 60 with the 767-300ER, 38 with the A350-900, 27 with the 767-400ER, and even 24 with the narrowbody 737-800 twinjet.

In terms of frequency, Delta’s most popular South American routes run twice daily from Atlanta (ATL) to Bogota (BOG) and Sao Paulo (GRU). ATL to Buenos Aires (EZE) is the only other route served more than daily on average, with 36 outbound and 35 inbound flights scheduled. Earlier this year, Delta launched flights from Salt Lake City to Lima, with Governor Spencer Cox saying:

“The creation of this first-ever nonstop gateway between Utah and South America is an exciting opportunity to build upon Utah’s growing importance on the world stage, and it underscores Delta’s commitment to our state.”

American Airlines

The largest US big three legacy carrier by South American flights operated is American Airlines, whose total is almost three times that of Delta Air Lines. The Fort Worth-based oneworld founding member has scheduled a grand total of 1,982 services on its various corridors to and from South America this month, with these flights collectively offering 426,575 seats and 1,385,175,786 ASMs.

Interestingly, almost half of these are operated by the Boeing 737 MAX 8, which accounts for 909 of the flights. This jet is followed in popularity by the 777-200ER with 269, the 787-8 with 205, the 777-300ER with 180, the Airbus A321neo with 179, the 787-9 with 178, and the 737-800 with 62. Miami (MIA) to Bogota, Buenos Aires, and Lima (LIM) are the top routes, with three daily flights.

Two more of the carrier’s South American routes have more than two daily flights on average, with both of these also originating in Miami, which serves as American Airlines’ gateway to Latin America. The first of these connects the Florida hub with Sao Paulo 80 times each way in November, while Miami to Medellin (MDE) has 77 outbound and 76 inbound flights scheduled.

United Airlines

Unlike Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, which operate a mixture of Airbus and Boeing twinjets on their South American routes, United Airlines currently opts solely for the latter manufacturer. All 905 of its South American flights this month are scheduled to be operated by Boeing jets, with the most popular variant being the 737 MAX 8, which accounts for 335 services.

It is followed by the Boeing 777-200ER, which, with 240 flights, is United Airlines’ most popular widebody on its South American routes this month. According to aeroLOPA, these aircraft have 50 Polaris business, 24 premium economy, and 202 economy class seats on board. After this, we have the 767-300ER with 116, the 767-400ER, 787, and 787-10 all with 60, and the 757-200 with 34.

Houston (IAH) is United’s top hub for South American departures, and it serves Bogota and Buenos Aires twice a day from the Texan facility. It also flies daily from Houston to Lima, Medellin, Quito (UIO), Rio de Janeiro (GIG), Santiago (SCL), and Sao Paulo. Meanwhile, Bogota and Sao Paulo are also served daily from its main East Coast hub at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).