American Airlines is preparing for its biggest football travel schedule yet this fall. The airline announced plans to add 185 new flights and 22,000 extra seats. These changes aim to help fans reach some of the biggest NFL and college football games of the year.
The airline will use larger planes from key hubs like Philadelphia (PHL) and Washington, D.C. (DCA) to fit more passengers. The new flights will start with the NFL season kickoff in mid-September. Many of these routes align with NFL game schedules, with flights timed around game days.
For example, American will offer flights between Washington, D.C. and Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the Commanders vs. Packers game in September. Other routes include San Francisco to New Orleans for the 49ers vs. Saints matchup and Buffalo, New York, to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Bills vs. Panthers game in October.
In total, American is adding capacity for 28 NFL games through the first week of January 2026. The airline will also run extra flights during Green Bay Packers home games throughout the fall.
On the college football side, American is increasing flights for over 40 game-day matchups. Starting in late August and continuing through November, flights will connect college towns such as Birmingham, Alabama, to Waco, Texas; South Bend, Indiana, to Northwest Arkansas; and Gainesville, Florida, to College Station, Texas.
Most of these flights will leave on Fridays and return on Sundays to match the Saturday college football schedule.
As an official sponsor of Texas Athletics at the University of Texas, American is adding five new flight frequencies from Austin this fall. These flights will help fans travel to see the Longhorns play in cities like Columbus, Ohio; Gainesville, Florida; Lexington, Kentucky; and Atlanta.
Overall, American Airlines expects to fly a total of 128,000 miles between NFL and college football locations this fall. That distance equals about 2 million football fields.
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