Philadelphia Airport  served a record 33 million passengers in 2019, helped along by American Airlines, which operates its fourth largest hub and gateway here, and is now expanding with routes to Africa, writes Edward Russell for thepointsguy.com.

Also feeding into the airport’s success is the growth of low-cost carriers like Frontier and Spirit Airlines.

The airport’s capacity (as measured by seats) jumped in 2019. Discounters grew the fastest with seats up 35 percent  year-over-year at Spirit and 26 percent at Frontier.

At the same time, Philadelphia has invested in local amenities — like Geno’s Subs — and upgrading its terminals to serve the growing ranks of travelers.

Philadelphia airport’s growth, both in passengers and amenities, comes after a period of uncertainty following the American-US Airways merger in 2013.

American cut seats at the airport by nearly 15 percent from 2014 through 2017.

It began adding those seats back at the hub in 2018 when its post-merger network strategy crystallized. Philadelphia became its transatlantic connecting gateway with JFK and Washington Reagan National.

Philadelphia has become known by some American executives as a “crown jewel” in its network, a strong gateway for the airline.

Read more about American Airlines expansion and Philadelphia Airports record passengers here.

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