American Airlines looks to new Asian and German connections through new international markets

American Airlines is largely targeting growth markets through new international routes it plans to introduce in 2013, bolstering its already robust ties to Latin America through new flights to Lima where oneworld partner LAN is increasing service to capitalise on increasing demand between North and Latin America. Attempting to build on a recently strong performance in the Pacific, American is also introducing its first direct service from the US to Seoul in South Korea, a market dominated by SkyTeam carrier Korean Air and Star member Asiana.

New service planned by American from its Chicago hub to Dusseldorf in Germany is a direct result of airberlin's ascension earlier this year into oneworld, allowing American to seize on airberlin's stature as Germany's second largest carrier and fill a hole in both its own and oneworld's larger European network. The carrier is also entering a well-served market with a new service from JFK to Dublin, but American appears to be timing the launch of service to coincide with "The Gathering", an Irish-government sponsored initiative aimed at encouraging individuals of Irish descent to return to the country to boost tourism and strengthen the economy.