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American Airlines Expands at MIA
 American Airlines has continued to grow at MIA. |
As airlines around the nation cut flights from their hubs, American Airlines will try to hang on to the gains it has achieved at Miami International Airport. While announcing that it will cut 97 employees at MIA, the carrier will maintain service it added recently at MIA, including flights to Belo Horizonte, Salvador and Recife in Brazil and to the island of Grenada.
American, which uses MIA as its Latin American and Caribbean hub, carries about two-thirds of the airport’s passenger traffic — largely international passengers. The airline has averaged 33% annual growth at MIA in recent years, with its passenger count rising from 14.7 million in 2002 to 20.7 million in 2007. It anticipated more than 22 million passengers in 2008.
 Peter Dolara |
Peter J. Dolara, senior vice president-Miami, Caribbean and Latin America, leads the airline’s largest operating unit. The Uruguay native has run the operation since 1992. Here are his views on:
2009 plans: I don’t think that we’re going to be increasing now. You have the economy in the U.S. affecting traffic. In 2009, we are going to hold any growth.
Why he’s bullish on MIA: You have a variety of reasons to fly (through or to) Miami: You have relatives, friends there, the variety of activities, the service. It’s a playground. Miami has an affinity, a familiarity and identity to the markets of Mexico, Central America, South America. It’s rare that a person ... doesn’t know somebody or have friends and family here.
Challenges: The competitors we have are, most obviously, Houston and Atlanta. They have two formidable, aggressive carriers, both with good facilities, and both of them also want to grow in the places we fly. Miami has to finish the terminal that we have under construction. ... When it comes to the excitement and uniqueness (of the destination), with the new facility, we will have an awesome combination.
The airline’s marketing partnership with the Beacon Council: It’s very simple: We are the hometown airline. If the city grows, American grows.
