Summary
- American Airlines is the largest air carrier in terms of passenger market share at Portland International Jetport.
- The flights offered to Portland are generally flown from American’s East Coast hubs with two exceptions being Dallas Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare.
- Because Portland, Maine is a smaller city and has a smaller airport, American Eagle aircraft fleet in tangent with American’s main aircraft fleet is used on flights to Portland.
Table of Contents
Portland Maine is an excellent weekend getaway destination for people looking to visit a New England coastal city. With excellent seafood and visuals of wharfs, boats, and lighthouses, there is a lot that one can enjoy in this cozy tourist destination.
However, being a smaller city, flying into Portland Maine might provide some challenges to travelers who don’t live close as there aren’t many direct flights offered to cities west of the Mississippi River.
In this guide, we will focus on American Airlines and American Eagle and their service to Portland. American is the largest operator in terms of market share at Portland International Jetport and provides direct connections to Maine to many of the major big cities along the East Coast of the United States.
What Airport Does American Airlines Fly Into On It’s Flights to Portland Maine?
Portland International Jetport
The airline uses Portland International Jetport on flights to Portland, Maine. Despite having an unconventional use of “Jetport” in its name (which means it’s an airport designed to handle jet aircraft), the airport functions like a normal international airport found in most larger cities.
Portland International Jetport is the largest airport in Maine. It handles north of 2 million passengers per year.
It is found 3 miles away from Downtown Portland, making it a great option for passengers looking to get right into the thick of what this small city has to offer.
American Airlines Terminal at Portland International Jetport
There is only one terminal found at Portland International Jetport. The main terminal is located right in the center of the airfield.
The terminal building contains 14 gates that can be utilized by the airlines that operate at the airport. American Airlines typically flies out of the western end of the terminal, gates 9 and 10.
Portland’s terminal comes equipped with free WIFI and has many food and beverage stops to make your stay at the airport comfortable.
American Airlines Flights into Portland Maine
Portland, Maine is a sought after New England tourist destination. It has a small town, seaport vibe that is a standalone attraction in itself. Coupled with Maine having some of the freshest seafood available (specifically Lobster Rolls), it can be understandable why Maine’s most popular city has fairly large regional travel demand.
Regional Travel Demand
Despite the attraction, American Airlines is definitely limited by the airport size and regional demand. Portland, Maine is a hard sell to travelers on the West Coast due to similarities to Pacific Northwest staples like Seattle and Oregon’s own Portland.
Midwesterners have the Great Lakes and all the best that is with it.
People from warmer climates in the South and America’s Heartland might avoid the colder New England temperatures associated with the region.
With all that said, American Airlines pretty much only offers flights to mainly from its major East Coast hubs with the only outlier being Dallas Fort-Worth which is only offered seasonally.
Tried and Tested Route Offerings
American has tested and tried different routes but removed them from service. For example, they once offered a direct flight from Miami, Florida but it was eventually removed from the schedule.
American Airlines Routes to Portland as of July 2024
Despite all the reasons one might not want to go to Portland, American Airline customers beyond its east coast hubs can find a connecting flight to Portland, Maine to experience all the beauty the seafaring city has to offer.
See the table below for all the flights currently being offered by the American Airlines brand to Portland, Maine.
| Departure City | Departure Airport | Offering | Aircraft Type |
| New York City | LaGuardia Airport | Year Round | Embraer 175 (American Eagle) |
| Philadelphia | Philadelphia International Airport | Year Round | Embraer 145 (American Eagle)Canadair Regional Jet 900 (American EagleAirbus A319 |
| Washington D.C | Washington DC | Year Round | Airbus A319 |
| Charlotte | Charlotte International Airport | Year Round | Airbus A319Airbus A321 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport | Seasonal | Airbus A321 |
| Chicago | Chicago O’Hare International Airport | Year Round | Embraer 170 (American Eagle)Embraer 175 (American Eagle) |
American Airlines Uses American Eagle on Flights to Portland
One thing to note is that American Airlines uses both its main brand and its regional product, called American Eagle for these routes.
American Eagle is made up of several regional airlines like Republic Airways and Envoy Air which each fly these routes using American Eagle branding. American Eagle can be easily characterized by the smaller size of the aircraft being used for flights, which typically carry less that 76 passengers.
Competition at Portland International Jetport
American Airlines owns the greatest market share at Portland International Jetport but only by a slight margin.
In March 2024, American owned a 18.24% market share of all the passenger traffic coming in and out of the airport. They were followed by Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
Other major airlines like JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines, Breeze Airways, and Sun Country Airlines also have a presence at the airport.
American’s route to New York-LaGuardia sits at the number 3 spot for the most popular routes from the airport in March 2024. Only Southwest’s scheduled service to Baltimore and United’s service to Newark top American’s route to LaGuardia.
In terms of competition on America’s routes, there really isn’t much overlap. United Airlines offers the most competition on select routes, specifically the flight to Chicago O’Hare.
American Airlines Uses These Aircraft for Flights to Portland Maine
American Airlines brand both uses its main fleet and its regional American Eagle aircraft fleet to perform flights to Portland, Maine.
One thing that the airline needs to be conscious about is that Portland International Jetport is a smaller airport containing smaller runways and ramp space. That is one of the reasons in target of the regional passenger demand that the airline uses its regional brand.
Embraer 145
The Embraer 145 is used on American’s flights to Portland from Philadelphia. This aircraft is part of American Eagle’s brand fleet operated by Piedmont Airlines.
American’s Embraer 145 fits upwards of 50 passengers, configured in the airline’s all economy option called Main Cabin.
Embraer 170
Another member of the American Eagle brand, the Embraer 170 flies between Chicago and Portland being operated by Envoy Air.
This aircraft is more spacious than both the Embraer 145 and CRJ-400 as it can hold 65 passengers in a two class configuration.
In addition to American’s Main Cabin, the airline also provides a premium level of economy seating called Main Cabin Extra. With Main Cabin Extra, passengers receive a little bit more legroom than what they would get in the normal economy class.
Also, the Embraer 170 features a first class seating option.
Embraer 175
A slightly larger version of the Embraer 170 is the Embraer 175. It features the same seating options as one could expect on the Embraer 170 however, with the added length of the airframe the Embraer 175 can hold upwards to 76 passengers.
The 175 is also part of the American Eagle brand and is used on flights from Chicago & New York to Portland.
If you want to go more in depth about American’s Embraer 175 product, check out our guide here.
CRJ-900
The CRJ-900 is very comparable to the Embraer 175 in terms of passenger count. American equipped their CRJ-900’s to carry 76 passengers offering First class, Main Cabin and Main Cabin Extra seating configurations.
The aircraft has been observed to be used on the Philadelphia to Portland route. It is flown under the American Eagle emblem. The flight itself is flown by PSA Airlines.
Airbus A319
The first of two aircraft types that are a part of American’s main airline fleet that flies into Portland is the Airbus A319.
American’s Airbus A319 takes on the bulk of the daily trips from closer area airports like Washington-National and Philadelphia.
The aircraft features a three class seating configuration – Main Cabin, Main Cabin Extra and First. There are a total of 128 seats onboard American’s Airbus A319s.
Airbus A321
The largest aircraft American Airline flies into Portland International Jetport is the Airbus A321. The Airbus A321 is a stretched version of the Airbus A319.
It holds between 102 and 190 passengers depending on the configuration the airline uses for flights into Portland. American devotes lesser seats for Airbus A321s that fly across the country.
American’s Airbus A321 is flown on the airline’s Charlotte & Dallas flights to Portland, Maine. These are larger hubs for the airline so there is much more passenger demand coming from these two departure cities which necessitates the use of a larger aircraft.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a nice coastal weekend getaway, Portland Maine would be a great spot to check out. American Airlines provides some of the better access throughout the country by air to Portland International Jetport.
Despite having many scheduled options, American Airlines brand best serves the Northeastern region of the United States.
Passengers beyond this area (besides Dallas, Texas) may seek a connecting flight to one of America’s major Northeast hubs that provide feeder flights into Portland, Maine.
Sources
https://www.flightconnections.com/route-map-american-airlines-aal
https://wgme.com/news/local/portland-jetport-will-soon-offer-nonstop-flights-to-dallas-fort-worth
