American Airlines is expanding its Caribbean service from Miami this winter, adding more flights to destinations including Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas and St. Kitts and Nevis.
The expanded schedule will include as many as eight daily flights between Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico, six daily flights to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and four daily flights to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Additional service to Antigua is scheduled to begin Oct. 5, when American Airlines will operate two daily flights between Miami and the Caribbean island.
The airline will further increase its regional schedule beginning Dec. 17, with three daily flights between Miami and Great Exuma in The Bahamas and two daily flights to St. Kitts.
The expanded Exuma and St. Kitts services are scheduled to operate through April 5, covering the peak winter travel season.
The additional flights will increase connections between American’s Miami hub and several Caribbean destinations, including some smaller islands that have traditionally had fewer nonstop options from the U.S. mainland.
Tortola will have one of the highest frequencies under the expanded schedule, with as many as six flights per day. American’s nonstop Miami-Tortola service provides direct access to the British Virgin Islands without requiring travelers to connect through another Caribbean airport.
St. Thomas will receive as many as four daily flights from Miami, while San Juan will have the largest number of flights among the destinations highlighted, with up to eight per day.
In The Bahamas, American will increase Miami-Great Exuma service to three daily flights beginning Dec. 17. Great Exuma serves as a gateway to the Exuma island chain.
St. Kitts will receive two daily Miami flights during the same Dec. 17-April 5 period. The island also serves as one of the main air gateways for travelers heading to neighboring Nevis.
The expanded Antigua schedule, meanwhile, will begin more than two months earlier, with twice-daily Miami service starting Oct. 5.
American Airlines expects its overall Miami operation to reach more than 410 departures on peak days during the winter season.
The expanded Caribbean schedule comes as airlines increase capacity for the region’s peak winter travel period, when demand from the United States traditionally rises.
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