American Adds Nonstop Service to LA This Spring

American Airlines is adding its 12th city to its Pittsburgh network: a major West Coast market last served by the carrier nearly 8 years ago.

American will begin nonstop flights between Pittsburgh International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with daily service operating year-round starting April 4. American’s daily flight will operate with the following schedule:

• Flight AA814 will depart from LAX at 9 a.m. Pacific Time and arrive at PIT at 4:37 p.m. Eastern Time.
• Flight AA814 will depart from PIT at 5:57 p.m. ET and arrive at LAX at 8:05 p.m. PT.

Nonstop flights between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles are now for sale and can be booked at AA.com.

American will operate flights with 172-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft featuring 16 first class seats and 156 economy seats. In Economy, 24 seats offer additional legroom designated as Main Cabin Extra. All of American’s 737s feature high-speed wi-fi for purchase, free in-flight entertainment, in-seat power and larger overhead bins for carry-on items.

American previously flew the PIT-LAX route until February 2017. The new flight with the 737-800 will add over a third more capacity and double the number of first class seats over the Airbus A319 American last flew on the route.

“More service to Los Angeles has been a top target for PIT and is part of our strategy of adding more nonstop flights to points into the western U.S.,” said Bryan Dietz, senior vice president of Air Service and Commercial Development. “We’re thrilled to see American return to the Pittsburgh-Los Angeles market, adding to the convenience of reaching Southern California for our business and leisure travelers.

PIT-LAX is a key business route for many Pittsburgh-area companies, including film industry professionals traveling between both cities for movie and film production. In addition, Los Angeles is a popular leisure market known for its famous tourist attractions and beaches.

“Our clients, the economic generating film and TV industry, have brought over $2.5 billion dollars to the region and love working in southwest Pennsylvania,” said Dawn Keezer, executive director of the Pittsburgh Film Office. “The number one challenge for them has been the lack of a nonstop flight on a legacy carrier. With today’s announcement, that is no longer a concern and we look forward to welcoming more work to the region.”

Along with American, Breeze Airways plans to increase its existing Los Angeles service from twice a week to five times a week by early June, further expanding capacity on the PIT-LAX route.

READ MORE: Breeze Increases Service to West Coast

Overall, the western U.S. has seen continued growth in nonstop flights from PIT over the years, with United Airlines now operating to San Francisco with up to two daily flights and Alaska Airlines offering up to twice daily service to Seattle.

Breeze began its LAX service in 2023 and launched nonstop, seasonal service to San Diego earlier this year, along with Southwest Airlines. Last month, Delta Air Lines resumed daily, nonstop service to its Salt Lake City hub from PIT for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

American’s Pittsburgh-Los Angeles flight is timed to open connections to major markets in Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. American, along with its Oneworld Alliance partner Qantas, offer convenient connecting flows from Pittsburgh to Melbourne and Sydney year-round and Auckland seasonally, via LAX.

With the addition of Los Angeles, PIT will now have nonstop service to every American hub, which includes Charlotte, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington-National. American operates more flights than any other carrier at PIT.

Additionally, American also flies twice daily to Raleigh-Durham and seasonal, Saturday-only flights to Cancun, Mexico, during the winter and spring. American planned its Pittsburgh-Cancun service through March 30 but recently extended flights through May 4.

American’s Oneworld partner, British Airways, is also increasing its nonstop flights to London Heathrow from six times a week to seven times a week starting March 30. American codeshares on British Airways’ Pittsburgh-London route, enabling travelers to book flights and redeem frequent flier miles seamlessly on each airline. The BA-AA partnership also brings shared lounge access, where British Airways passengers can use American’s Admirals Clubs, including at PIT.

Beyond its route map, American is also investing in its PIT maintenance base, which has grown to support nearly 360 aviation maintenance jobs this year and is transitioning one of its lines to perform heavier aircraft checks. American plans to employ 600 maintenance jobs at the PIT base by 2025.

The staffing additions will make Pittsburgh, which specializes in servicing American’s fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft, the second-largest maintenance base in American’s entire network.