How United, Delta, American, JetBlue, Alaska, Hawaiian, Frontier are Boosting US Tourism Sector with Record Passenger Growth and Bold New Routes: TTW Reports

US tourism sector is experiencing a major lift, powered by record-breaking passenger numbers and bold route expansions from leading airlines including United, Delta, American, JetBlue, Alaska, Hawaiian, and Frontier. As per TTW (Travel and Tour World) report in 2024, these carriers collectively transported hundreds of millions of travelers, reflecting a strong rebound in travel demand. But beyond the surge in traffic, it’s their strategic additions—spanning Europe, Asia, Latin America, and key US cities—that are transforming accessibility and driving inbound tourism. From American’s expanding European network to Delta’s new transpacific routes, United’s global push, and Frontier’s rapid domestic growth, these airlines are not only strengthening air connectivity but also helping to reinvigorate the national tourism economy and open new pathways for visitors to explore the US.

American Airlines Soars with Record Traffic and Major Global Expansions

American Airlines anticipated welcoming nearly thirteen million travelers during the 2024 winter holiday season alone, operating over 118,000 flights. And that’s just a glimpse of a record-setting year.

Across 2024, the airline ran more than 2.1 million flights, covering 1.8 billion miles—the equivalent of circling the Earth nearly 74,000 times. Over 275 million seats were offered, reflecting its unmatched scale.

Backed by a 6.8% jump in North American passenger traffic, American helped lead the charge in tourism recovery. December 2024 marked a high point, with 83.3 million passengers flown across all U.S. airlines—a 5.9% year-over-year increase. American alone moved 72.1 million domestic and 11.2 million international passengers that month, setting new internal records.

Looking ahead to summer 2025, American is set to further energize U.S. tourism with new seasonal routes and European growth:

• New summer routes include Chicago to Halifax, Dallas to Quebec City, and New York-LaGuardia to Calgary and Bozeman.
• Expanded European network with 70+ daily flights to top cities like London, Paris, Rome, Athens, and Zurich.
• First-ever Dallas–Venice nonstop launches June 5, with more service to Rome and Naples.
• Increased capacity to Latin America, including a fourth daily flight from Miami to Buenos Aires and more frequent flights from Dallas to São Paulo.

American’s international expansion is not just about more destinations—it’s about inviting the world to explore the U.S. with greater ease, frequency, and connectivity.

Delta Scales New Heights with 200 Million Flyers and Expansive 2025 Route Launch

Delta Air Lines closed 2024 on a high note, transporting more than two hundred million passengers—a clear sign of robust demand and strategic growth. The airline logged 246.1 billion revenue passenger miles, up 6% from the previous year, alongside 288.4 billion available seat miles, signaling a matching surge in capacity. With a load factor of 85%, Delta showcased one of the most efficient operations in the skies.

In December 2024 alone, Delta operated 60.4 billion revenue passenger miles, marking a 5% year-over-year increase and helping push the airline—and the U.S. tourism sector—toward a record-setting year.

Delta’s 2025 summer schedule signals an aggressive push into new markets, with a mix of domestic gems and international breakthroughs:

• From Atlanta, new nonstop service begins to Bangor, Maine and Rapid City, South Dakota on June 8.
• From Detroit, seasonal flights will head to Punta Cana, Bozeman, Pensacola, and Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
• From Minneapolis-St. Paul, a Saturday route to Jackson Hole will add more adventure options for summer travelers.

Internationally, Delta is setting its sights higher:

• A historic first nonstop from Salt Lake City to Seoul-Incheon launches June 12.
• Delta deepens its Italian footprint with new flights to Catania and Naples, alongside more service to Rome and Milan.
• Across the Atlantic, popular routes to Amsterdam and Copenhagen will benefit from daily flights on the Airbus A350-900.

In the Caribbean, travelers can expect more options from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Aruba, plus expanded frequencies to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

With high passenger volumes and bold new routes, Delta is not just growing—it’s helping power U.S. tourism by connecting global travelers to more American gateways than ever before.

United Hits All-Time Passenger High with Bold Global Route Surge for 2025

United Airlines broke records in 2024, transporting approximately one hundred eighty million passengers—the highest in its history. December alone saw 16 million travelers, underscoring a massive holiday travel rush and the airline’s growing appeal.

Operating an average of 4,340 flights per day, United added 145 more mainline flights daily compared to the previous year, helping fuel this surge. Capacity, measured in available seat miles, rose by 6.8%, while revenue passenger miles climbed 5.8%, reflecting strong demand. The load factor remained solid at 83.1%, just slightly below the previous year’s performance.

Notably, United also ranked second among the top U.S. airlines for on-time performance, with standout months in February, September, and October, highlighting its operational efficiency.

Looking toward summer 2025, United is unleashing one of its largest international expansions yet, spotlighting its global ambitions and its role in welcoming international visitors to the U.S.:

• China is back in focus, with daily service from Chicago and Newark to Beijing and Shanghai, plus a new San Francisco–Chengdu route.
• Europe sees a burst of new service from Newark to Bilbao, Faro, Madeira, Palermo, Venice, and Nice—offering travelers more gateways into the U.S. from iconic destinations.
• From Washington DC, United will launch flights to Dakar, Senegal, and from Tokyo-Narita, routes to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia signal deeper Asian connectivity.

Domestically and regionally, United is also adding new sun-and-sand destinations:

• Newark to Dominica starting February 15.
• Houston to Puerto Escondido, launching April 5.
• San Francisco to San José, Costa Rica, beginning May 22.

With a global map lighting up and more seats than ever before, United is doing more than expanding—it’s becoming a powerful gateway to American tourism, connecting continents while driving inbound travel across every corner of the U.S.

JetBlue Eyes Recovery with Bold Route Expansion Despite Passenger Dip

JetBlue Airways faced turbulence in 2024, recording a 31.4% drop in December passengers year-over-year, with just under 196,000 travelers that month. Though full-year numbers haven’t been publicly confirmed, the trend suggests the airline is still in a recovery phase, adjusting operations post-pandemic and navigating industry headwinds.

Despite the setback, JetBlue is leaning into strategic growth for summer 2025, introducing 16 new routes, including five all-new destinations, in a clear move to reenergize traffic and reconnect key U.S. cities with international and regional markets.

• New international gateways include Halifax, Nova Scotia and San Pedro Sula, Honduras, both launching daily service in late spring.
• New U.S. cities on the map: Traverse City, Norfolk, and Wilmington, bringing JetBlue’s network to more midsize markets.
• From Boston, JetBlue makes a transatlantic play with new daily flights to Madrid and Edinburgh, strengthening its European reach.
• Additional domestic routes from New York include service to Detroit, Hartford, Pittsburgh, and the return of JFK–D.C. flights.

JetBlue’s strategy focuses heavily on the East Coast corridor, enhancing leisure and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) travel options during peak season.

While traffic numbers may be down, this wave of new routes signals JetBlue’s commitment to rebounding through connectivity, helping stimulate domestic and inbound tourism in overlooked markets and international travel from underutilized hubs.

Alaska Airlines Lifts Off with 32% Growth and Big New Links from the West Coast

Alaska Airlines soared through 2024 with impressive momentum, transporting over fourteen million revenue passengers—a 32% increase over 2023. It reported 63.9 billion revenue passenger miles and 76.2 billion available seat miles, both rising 11% year-over-year, while maintaining a strong 83.9% load factor. Its regional operations also saw solid gains, adding 1 million more passengers over the previous year.

These numbers reflect Alaska’s growing role in shaping domestic travel and feeding international tourism through its expanding hub network.

Looking ahead to 2025, Alaska Airlines is turning up the altitude with new long-haul international routes and enhanced seasonal connectivity:

• From Seattle, the airline will launch daily service to Tokyo-Narita beginning May 12, and a nonstop to Seoul-Incheon starting September 12. These new routes—operated in partnership with Hawaiian Airlines—position Seattle as a stronger transpacific gateway for inbound tourism.
• On the domestic front, Alaska connects Anchorage with Detroit and Sacramento via new weekly flights launching June 14, and adds a daily link between Fairbanks and Portland starting May 15.
• From San Francisco, two new seasonal Hawaii routes—to Kona and Līhuʻe—will offer more tropical escapes during peak travel months.

Alaska’s 2024 performance, paired with its coastal-to-global expansion, reinforces its role in driving inbound travel to the Pacific Northwest and beyond. By increasing accessibility to underexplored regions and iconic U.S. cities, the airline continues to contribute to the resilience and growth of the U.S. tourism sector.

Hawaiian Airlines Charts a Comeback with New Pacific Routes Despite Traffic Dip

Hawaiian Airlines faced some turbulence in 2024, carrying just 66,444 passengers in December, down 18.5% compared to the same month in 2023. While the airline’s full-year passenger traffic lagged behind pre-pandemic levels, it maintained a strong operational footprint, focusing on service quality and strategic positioning in key markets.

Rather than pulling back, Hawaiian Airlines is pressing forward with a bold expansion in 2025, reaffirming its role as a critical link between the U.S. and the Pacific:

• Launching new transpacific routes from Seattle, the airline will begin daily service to Tokyo-Narita on May 12, and five-times-weekly service to Seoul-Incheon on September 12, using its widebody Airbus A330-200 aircraft. These routes mark a shift from the traditional Hawaii-Asia focus and aim to capture more U.S.-bound international traffic through the Pacific Northwest.
• On the domestic front, Hawaiian adds new connectivity between San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands, with four weekly flights to Kona and three to Līhuʻe starting in mid-June.
• Additionally, the long-haul Honolulu–Boston route will be upgraded to five weekly flights for summer 2025, reinforcing Hawaiian’s commitment to cross-country service even amid market pressures.

These expansions show Hawaiian Airlines adapting to new travel patterns while remaining a key tourism bridge between the U.S. mainland and the Pacific region. By increasing access points beyond Hawaii, the airline is helping to stimulate tourism flow into the U.S. from Asia and across domestic markets.

Frontier Flies High with Rapid Growth and Bold Route Surge into 2025

Frontier Airlines continued its climb in 2024, building on the momentum from the previous year by transporting over thirty million passengers—a figure that marked a 19% increase in 2023 and pointed to continued growth this year. The airline’s busiest corridor, Orlando to Philadelphia, carried over 800,000 travelers, reinforcing Frontier’s strength on key leisure-heavy routes.

Backed by a 40% increase in flight departures and a network reaching 52 destinations, Frontier is doubling down on its ultra-low-cost model while playing a growing role in connecting U.S. cities with affordable options. That includes helping boost domestic tourism by offering more frequent and accessible flights to underserved or second-tier cities.

In 2025, Frontier is rolling out a wave of new routes aimed squarely at high-demand leisure and sun destinations:

• From San Diego, new connections to Austin, Chicago, and Salt Lake City begin in June, expanding access between the West and interior U.S.
• A spring push includes 14 new domestic routes launching in May from cities like Austin, Denver, Cleveland, and Dulles, with flights to Miami, Philadelphia, Spokane, and Nashville.
• On the international front, seasonal service from Cincinnati to Punta Cana starts in mid-May, expanding options for U.S. travelers heading abroad—and vice versa.

Frontier’s growth is fueled by more than low fares—it’s helping drive regional travel demand, boost airport traffic in secondary cities, and feed into broader U.S. tourism circuits. As it adds frequencies and enters new markets, Frontier continues to offer budget-conscious travelers more ways to explore the country—and opens the door for more visitors to reach the U.S. through easy domestic hops.

Major U.S. airlines like United, Delta, American, JetBlue, Alaska, Hawaiian, and Frontier are fueling the tourism boom with record passenger growth and bold new routes that expand access to and within the United States. Their 2024 performance and 2025 route launches are reshaping global and domestic travel, bringing more visitors into the country than ever before.

As the U.S. travel landscape evolves, these airlines are not just responding to demand—they’re actively shaping it. With record passenger growth and an ambitious wave of new routes, United, Delta, American, JetBlue, Alaska, Hawaiian, and Frontier are fueling a tourism resurgence that reaches every corner of the country. From major global gateways to emerging regional markets, their expansions are making the U.S. more accessible, more connected, and more appealing to travelers around the world. If 2024 was a year of recovery, 2025 is shaping up to be a year of acceleration—driven by the airlines that continue to push the boundaries of where tourism can go next.

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