America’s largest carrier pulls six routes this fall — including two launched just weeks ago — as a global energy shock drives jet fuel prices to more than double pre-conflict levels.
American Airlines will suspend flights on six domestic routes from Aug. 5 through Oct. 5, citing jet fuel prices that have roughly doubled since late February 2026.
The six affected markets collectively served just over 1.4 million local, point-to-point round-trip passengers in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data — equivalent to more than 3,800 travelers a day — with an additional 300,000 or so passengers transiting through one or both endpoints.
Two of the six routes — Los Angeles to Cleveland and Los Angeles to Washington Dulles — launched only in April 2026, making them among the shortest-lived new services in American’s recent network history.
The Six Routes
Four of the suspended routes originate at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): to Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). The remaining two operate from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to Ontario, Calif., and Sacramento International Airport (SMF).
All four LAX routes had operated daily on Boeing 737-800 or 737 MAX 8 aircraft; both Charlotte routes had flown daily on Airbus A321ceo jets. The LAX-Columbus route resumed in March 2025 after last operating in 2020; LAX-Pittsburgh returned in April 2025 after a gap dating to 2017. Both Charlotte routes were inherited from US Airways: CLT-Sacramento dates to October 2015, CLT-Ontario to May 2021.
The Fuel Shock
Jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since U.S.-Israeli military actions disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz beginning in late February 2026. The Argus US Jet Fuel Index reached $4.69 per gallon — more than double pre-conflict levels. Chief Financial Officer Devon May projected fuel costs at approximately $4 per gallon for the second quarter, based on estimates as of April 20.
American spent $341 million more on jet fuel in the first quarter of 2026 than in the same period a year earlier. For the full year, the carrier projects its fuel bill will rise by more than $4 billion.
American reported a first-quarter net loss of $382 million, or 58 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $473 million, or 72 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2025. First-quarter revenue totaled $13.91 billion, a 10.8 percent year-over-year gain which the company described as the highest revenue growth in its history for a March quarter. In April, the airline revised its 2026 profit forecast downward; the lower end of guidance indicated a potential adjusted loss of 40 cents per share, against earlier guidance of $1.70 to $2.10 per share in earnings.
Chief Executive Robert Isom told CNBC that jet fuel prices had a “big impact” on the first quarter. Isom told investors in March that jet fuel costs had been the primary drag on quarterly results.
On the airline’s financial footing, Isom said the carrier had approximately $10 billion in liquidity at the close of the first quarter.
American has also suspended flights to Tel Aviv and Doha, scaled back Chicago operations, raised fares, and increased ancillary fees as part of its fuel cost response. Isom projected the carrier would recover 40 to 50 percent of its elevated fuel costs in the second quarter, rising to 75 to 85 percent by the third quarter.
In a May 27 Reuters report, Isom cited “strong revenue streams, along with heightened demand in premium and corporate travel” as helping cushion the impact. He told Bloomberg Television in late May that first-quarter revenue improved 11 percent year-over-year and that the airline was forecasting 15 percent year-over-year revenue growth, adding: “Right now, demand is very robust. As we look at closing out the second quarter, we’re gonna close out the second quarter in a really strong fashion.”
United’s Structural Edge
United Airlines — a Star Alliance member for which both LAX and Washington Dulles serve as primary hubs — dominated the LAX-IAD corridor before American launched nonstop service in April 2026. In 2025, United carried 572,739 of the route’s 648,753 local passengers, an 88 percent market share, averaging six daily departures in each direction including widebody service on the 364-seat Boeing 777-200 and the 787-9. American, which had not yet launched nonstop service, recorded just 4,408 local passengers on that corridor in 2025.
United also operates nonstop service on all four of the affected Los Angeles routes.
Charlotte-Sacramento: A Performer Pulled
The CLT-Sacramento suspension stands out given the route’s recent performance. American transported 156,110 round-trip passengers in 2025, the second-best year on record, trailing only 2017’s 160,394. US Airways inaugurated the nonstop service in 2008.
The route posted an 88 percent load factor in 2025, approximately six percentage points above American’s average domestic load factor from Charlotte. Only 52,631 of those passengers were local travelers; the remaining 103,479 connected at CLT to other destinations. The top connecting markets were Sacramento to and from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Raleigh/Durham, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Fort Lauderdale.
Industry Backdrop
American is not cutting alone. Over a 10-day period in early May, global airlines removed more than 9.3 million seats from summer schedules, with United trimming more than 21,000 flights, Delta Air Lines removing approximately 7,300, and Spirit Airlines — which cut roughly 33,000 flights — subsequently suspending operations. Lufthansa announced the elimination of 20,000 short-haul flights through October 2026.
Greg Raiff, founder and CEO of Elevate Jet and a 35-year aviation industry veteran, said in May the crisis is one of price, not supply: “We are not going to run out of jet fuel. In my professional opinion, 35 years doing this, we are in no risk of running out of jet fuel anytime soon.”
American Airlines is the largest domestic carrier in the United States, operating an average of 6,828 daily services in June through its mainline operations and regional unit American Eagle, according to Cirium Diio data. Together, the two operate one in four U.S. domestic flights. The Fort Worth-based carrier is the largest member of the oneworld global airline alliance.
Key Takeaways
- American Airlines is suspending flights on six domestic routes from Aug. 5 through Oct. 5, 2026, citing jet fuel prices that have roughly doubled since late February.
- The six markets served over 1.4 million local passengers in 2025; two of the routes launched just weeks before the suspension, in April 2026.
- Strait of Hormuz disruptions have added more than $4 billion to American’s projected 2026 fuel bill; the carrier reported a first-quarter net loss of $382 million on revenue of $13.91 billion.
- United Airlines holds 88 percent market share on the LAX–Washington Dulles corridor and operates nonstop service on all four affected Los Angeles routes.
- CEO Robert Isom cited $10 billion in liquidity and strong demand, projecting 75 to 85 percent fuel cost recovery by the third quarter.