Airlines beef up domestic summer schedules with big jets as international trips remain uncertain

Airlines beef up domestic summer schedules with big jets as international trips remain uncertain

The twin-aisle Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner has a range of more than 7,500 nautical miles, enough to fly passengers on a 15-hour nonstop from Los Angeles to Sydney. This summer, American Airlines plans to use the 285-seat plane on several much shorter routes, like Chicago to Orlando.

With many trips abroad still grounded in the pandemic, American and Delta Air Lines are opting to put the some of their large jetliners to work on domestic routes or for shorter international trips.

It's one of the ways airlines are rethinking their service in the pandemic. The planes are meant to fly long range, filling up with higher-paying passengers traveling abroad. If demand for international travel comes back, as American expects this fall, the airline would wind down the practice.

"It's like buying a Porsche to drive it to church on Sundays," said Brian Znotins, American's vice president of network planning.

Znotins said there is usually at least some domestic service using widebody jets on high-demand routes or to position aircraft in cities for long-haul flights but the carrier is ramping up domestic service with them.

Domestic leisure travel has largely recovered from a year ago, airline executives say, but international bookings and service are still depressed because