U.S. airlines expanding in international markets

NEW YORK – Mired in losing battles with discounters at home, the six big traditional U.S. airlines rapidly are expanding internationally.

A USA Today analysis of data from airline-schedule tracker OAG shows American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United sharply have increased their flying to foreign destinations in the last year. US Airways, up modestly during that time, hopes to expand in the Caribbean and Latin America next year.

The big carriers are shifting more capacity to international routes because demand is strong.

Airline consultant Jon Ash says the absence of competition from discounters makes international routes attractive. Low-cost airlines such as Southwest, JetBlue and AirTran don’t fly to Europe, Asia or Latin America.

USA Today finds:

•For this December, the six major airlines collectively have increased seats on foreign routes 11 percent from a year earlier. Seats on U.S. flights are up only 3 percent.

•The big carriers have added 13 percent more seats to the Far East and 18 percent more to Central America. Europe, already a giant market, has seen 8 percent growth.

Airlines report strong demand on foreign routes from leisure and business travelers. The average fare to Europe, as of June 30, was up 8.3 percent from two years earlier, according to Ash’s firm, InterVistas-ga2.