DFW International Airport Celebrates New American Airlines International Service to Barbados and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

(DFW AIRPORT, TX – December 16, 2010) DFW International Airport today heralded the launch of American Airlines international service to two new destinations, the Caribbean island nation of Barbados and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The additional destinations continue a trend of adding new destinations to the Airport’s flight portfolio. DFW and its airline partners have added a total of 24 new nonstop destinations since 2008, with seven more new destinations scheduled for 2011.

“We are excited to add two outstanding new international destinations to our growing global network, and we are thankful to our partners at American Airlines for making these new routes happen,” said Jeff Fegan, chief executive officer of DFW International Airport. “The development of new air service is a primary benefit and a major economic driver that this Airport brings to the citizens of Dallas-Fort Worth, and we are committed to attracting even more new service and more choices for our passengers in the future.”

“Barbados is a delightful Caribbean destination and Rio de Janeiro is an everexpanding business and leisure market in Brazil. We’re thrilled to launch expanded international services to and from DFW -- our largest hub and a key international gateway,” said Peter J. Dolara, American’s Senior Vice President for Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America. “These new services also offer convenient connections through DFW, which provides customers throughout our network the opportunity to discover two wonderful destinations.”

American will serve Barbados’ Grantley Adams International (BGI) Airport from DFW three times a week with Boeing 757 aircraft, and will connect from DFW to Rio’s Galeão International Airport three times a week utilizing Boeing 767-300 aircraft.

DFW has made great strides to broaden and strengthen the Airport’s network since the start of 2008. DFW has added service to four new international destinations, including Amsterdam and Madrid. American has already announced plans to add three more international nonstop routes in 2011, all in Mexico. 

“Any new international daily flight such as the connection to Madrid can bring upwards of $100 million in local economic impact every year,” said Christopher Minner, DFW’s assistant vice president for air service development. “The payoff for our citizens is tremendous, not only in terms of new business opportunities, but also with new connections that allow our passengers to easily reach almost any point around the world.”

The new additions bring the total number of destinations served or announced from DFW to 186, including 144 domestic and 42 international destinations.