Airlines are adding new routes and making a bold bet on continued strong demand for travel

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Building on strong bookings this summer, American Airlines said Thursday it will add three new European destinations next summer and revive another international route that it last flew in 2019.

The announcement comes one day after Delta Air Lines said it will expand service to China later this year.

The news from two of the biggest U.S. carriers underscores the airline industry’s confidence that its strong recovery from the pandemic will continue and that planes will remain packed.

American said that next summer it will add flights to Copenhagen, Naples and Nice, France — all new destinations for the airline — from Philadelphia. It plans to resume flights between Chicago and Venice that were dropped four years ago.

The Fort Worth-based airline said it will also extend seasonal summer service on some transatlantic routes longer than in previous summers. Delta is doing something similar this year.

Atlanta-based Delta announced on Wednesday that it expand China service with 10 flights per week to Shanghai from Seattle and Detroit. International travel to and from China has been slower to recover than just about any other region due to COVID-19 restrictions.