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American Airlines is once again flying the long haul from Pittsburgh.

The Fort Worth-based carrier will add new service from Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) beginning April 4, as first seen in Sirius schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.

The airline will deploy Boeing 737-800s on a 2,136-mile route that will cover approximately five hours each way.

Flights will depart Los Angeles at 9 a.m. and land in Pittsburgh at 4:37 p.m., local time each time. The westbound service will depart at 5:57 PM and land back in Los Angeles at 10:05 PM.

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American will be up against startup carrier Breeze Airways on this new route, so it will be interesting to see how the two airlines compete.

Spirit Airlines flew the route as recently as last month, but has since pulled out as part of a broader network pulldown to focus on the most profitable flying.

Spirit first started flying the route in July 2017. Meanwhile, American last operated the route in February 2017, so it will be interesting to see how American returns to fill the void left by Spirit, which filled American’s void nearly a decade ago.

Department of Transportation data analyzed by Cirium shows that an average of 283 passengers flew between the two cities per day in 2023, meaning there is room for two airlines in the nonstop market.

Note that US Airways, which merged with American in 2013, operated a major hub in Pittsburgh. US Airways closed the hub in 2004, but service to Los Angeles continued well into Pittsburgh’s post-hub era.

Now, the airport is busy reinventing itself, with a new terminal complex expected to open in the third quarter of next year.

In addition to Pittsburgh, American Airlines is also spreading its wings at its O’Hare International Airport (ORD) hub in Chicago. From there, it will begin service to Spokane, Washington in June.

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American’s regional affiliate Envoy Air will deploy the Embraer E175 on the route, which will be operated daily in both directions. American last flew from Chicago to Spokane in the summer of 2021, but that route was suspended after just one season.

United Airlines, another major carrier operating a hub in Chicago, already flies from ORD to Spokane, so the added competition could lead to lower fares for passengers departing from Chicago.

“American is pleased to announce two new routes starting in 2025. In April, we will offer new nonstop service between Los Angeles (LAX) and Pittsburgh (PIT), and in June we will launch nonstop service between Chicago (ORD) and Spokane (GEG). ).The route joins more than 20 other new routes launching next year, allowing travelers to explore familiar favorites or new neighborhoods in 2025. offers more ways,” an American spokeswoman said in a statement.

Although not necessarily a new route, American added another interesting network over the weekend. It is the third daily flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Hartford.

While no one can say for sure why American is making the addition, just last week Avello Airlines announced new service from nearby New Haven, Connecticut to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Americans are no strangers to turf wars, so it’s possible that this frequency increase is designed to compete with Avelo.

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