American Airlines will be expanding its route network from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) early next year. The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier will introduce nonstop flights from its desert southwest hub to Carlsbad in Southern California.
The news comes as the airline has made major changes this year in an effort to analyze its capacity and growth. With the new flights, Phoenix will become Carlsbad’s second destination with regularly scheduled passenger air service.
Flight details
According to aviation data and analytics company Cirium, American will begin the service between PHX and McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) on February 13, 2025, – just in time for the Spring travel rush. Carlsbad is located about 35 miles north of San Diego. With its cooler temperatures and clean beaches, the city is a popular getaway destination for Phoenicians. Carlsbad is also home to Legoland California.
American’s wholly-owned subsidiary Envoy Air will operate the flights twice daily on the Embraer E175 under the American Eagle brand. AA3837 is scheduled to depart PHX at 11:30 and arrive at CLD just after 12:00 local time. The second flight – AA4021 – will leave in the evening from PHX around 18:00 and land at CLD around 18:15 local time.
Flight Number
Origin
Departure Time
Destination
Arrival Time
Duration
AA3837
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
11:30
McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD)
12:02
1 hour, 32 minutes
AA4021
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
18:00
McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD)
18:16
1 hour, 16 minutes
The first PHX-bound flight is an early morning departure. AA4022 is scheduled to leave CLD at 06:15 and arrive at 08:40 local time. AA3837, the second return flight, leaves departs CLD just before 13:00 and is scheduled to land at PHX just after 15:00 local time. Given the distance, each flight will take just over an hour.
Flight Number
Origin
Departure Time
Destination
Arrival Time
Duration
AA4022
McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD)
06:15
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
08:40
1 hour, 25 minutes
AA3837
McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD)
12:45
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
15:10
1 hour, 25 minutes
The route will be offered year-round. PHX will be CLD’s second destination with regular scheduled service as public charter air carrier JSX serves Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) Las Vegas. In May, the air carrier began seasonal service between CLD and Scottsdale Airport (SCF), just outside Phoenix.
Flying on American’s E175s
The E175s accommodate a total of 76 passengers in a two-class format. 12 seats are in first class, offering a pitch of 37 inches and a width of 19.9 inches. In the main cabin, 20 seats are designated as Main Cabin Extra seats, offering more legroom with a pitch of 34 inches. The remaining 44 seats have a pitch of 30 inches, while all seats in the main cabin have a width of between 18.2 and 19.3 inches, depending on where they are located.
The planes are also equipped with WiFi, allowing passengers to surf the web or stream inflight entertainment through American’s inflight entertainment on personal devices. The aircraft, however, do not have USB or AC power ports.
American has significantly grown the presence of E175s at PHX. For years, many of American Eagle’s flights out of Phoenix were mainly operated by Bombardier CRJ-900s. The airline had a longstanding partnership with Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines, which handled the majority of American’s regional flights. SkyWest Airlines also supported flights with the CRJ-700 and later introduced the Embraer E175.
Envoy coming to the Valley of the Sun
In December 2022, American and Mesa announced their contract would end, prompting American to search for solutions. While SkyWest continues to operate some American Eagle flights, the carrier has partnerships with the other two US legacy carriers, meaning it did not have the capacity to absorb Mesa’s entire operation.
As such, American began to deploy Envoy’s E175s to and from PHX. The bulk of Envoy’s operation is out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to regional destinations across the Midwest and East Coast.