As the 2025 peak summer travel period gets underway, American Airlines has launched a new seasonal air route linking Cibao International Airport (STI) in Santiago, Dominican Republic, to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), marking another step in the carrier’s decades-long expansion of services between the two countries.
This new seasonal service between Santiago and Philadelphia deepens American Airlines’ long-standing footprint in the Dominican Republic, where the airline has maintained continuous operations for more than half a century. Following the launch of the route, American Airlines’ current service portfolio out of Santiago includes two daily flights to Miami alongside the four weekly services to Philadelphia. Alongside this new connection, the carrier also restarted daily operations on its existing Santo Domingo-Philadelphia route on May 21; this seasonal service will run through September 9, utilizing Boeing 737 aircraft for all trips.
Alexandre Cavalcanti, American Airlines’ Commercial Director for Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasized that the expanded route network will open greater access for international visitors to experience the rich cultural heritage and top tourism offerings that Santiago and the broader Dominican Republic have to offer. “With this new service to Philadelphia, we are connecting more parts of the world with the Dominican Republic and Santiago,” Cavalcanti said in a statement marking the route launch.
Looking ahead to the 2026 summer travel season, American Airlines has laid out aggressive expansion plans that will see it operate as many as 27 daily departures from airports across the Dominican Republic bound for the United States. The planned 2026 schedule breaks down to six daily flights from Santo Domingo’s main airport, up to 14 daily peak-season departures from the popular tourist hub of Punta Cana, three peak-day flights from Puerto Plata, multiple daily services out of Santiago, and daily operations from La Romana.
Airline representatives noted that this planned network growth directly responds to rapidly rising consumer demand for travel to the Dominican Republic, which has solidified its position as one of the most visited and popular tourism destinations across the entire Caribbean region.