American Airlines plans flight cuts in August, including 800+ flights at O’Hare

American Airlines will cancel hundreds of flights starting in August 2025, which could affect many summer travelers, according to Travel and Tour World. The airline is facing tough times due to strong competition from other airlines. There is also a big problem between American Airlines and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport that is making things worse, The Street says. The airline is set to lose four gates at the major airport. Because of this dispute, American Airlines has to cut many flights to and from O’Hare.

According to The Street, the biggest cuts are happening on routes between Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth, where flights will drop from 98 per week to just 85. Other cities losing flights include Wilmington in Delaware, El Paso in Texas, Kansas City in Missouri, Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, and New York LaGuardia. In total, American Airlines will lose 28 weekly flights across these five airports. Travel and Tour World reports that the airline has already started changing flights that were supposed to go to O'Hare by either canceling them completely or moving them to different dates and routes.

The Street explains that American Airlines has been doing worse than United Airlines and Delta Air Lines for several reasons. The company made a big mistake with its business travel plan by trying to get customers to book flights only on their website instead of using travel booking companies. This plan backfired and sent many customers to other airlines instead. American Airlines also failed to keep up with providing luxury travel experiences while United and Delta spent more money on better first-class seats, airport lounges, and overall fancier services.

The airline's route network focuses too much on southern states and is not well organized, which made it harder for them to handle difficult times during high prices and economic problems after COVID-19, The Street reported. Because of these struggles, American made changes in May that would start in August, cutting hundreds of daily flights each month. 

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AZ Central provides more details about how these cuts affect Phoenix-Chicago travelers specifically. The airline is reducing more than 80 routes from O'Hare with fewer flights and seats starting in August, and Phoenix is one of the cities hit hardest by these changes. There were 30 fewer flights between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and O'Hare on the August schedule compared to what was planned in May. American is now scheduled to run 238 flights between Phoenix and O'Hare in August with 43,237 seats, which means 30 fewer flights and 5,278 fewer seats than originally planned.

The cuts will continue into fall with Phoenix losing 25 flights in September and 57 flights in October. An American Airlines spokesman told AZ Central that these cuts reflect the airline's final schedule that gets set 100 days before flights take off. The airline first makes a temporary schedule 331 days ahead, then finalizes it 100 days before with adjustments for things like staff shortages and low demand. The ongoing lawsuit about gate space at O'Hare is likely one reason for the reduced flights, as American could lose four gates to United Airlines.