Last month, American Airlines (American) announced that in 2024, its international service at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) will increase with the addition of new nonstop routes to three European destinations – Copenhagen, Denmark; Naples, Italy; and Nice, France. PHL shared that the news is part of the airline’s most significant transatlantic expansion in four years, marking the first time passengers can fly nonstop from Philadelphia to those European destinations. 

In other recent news, Bristol Group, Inc. has announced plans to open a state-of-the-art climate-controlled cargo facility at PHL in 2025. The newly constructed Bristol PHL Cool Port will provide 241,000-square-feet of climate-controlled warehouse space to accommodate cargo related to pharmaceuticals, life sciences, perishable foods, and specialized electronics. 

“This news means more international business development opportunities for the region, and the Chamber is ready with activities to help it take off,” said James Medaglio, Director, Business Attraction and Expansion, the Chamber. 

Regional Business Development on the Rise

“We were already seeing an uptick in international business development interest and activity over the past year,” Medaglio said. “In fact, last fiscal year, 50%, or 86, of the Chamber’s prospects and leads were from internally domiciled companies,” he said. “American’s new international service opens up even more business attraction opportunities for the Chamber, from hosting international business delegations to representing Greater Philadelphia at international industry trade shows.” 

Hosting International Delegations

In the past year, the Chamber hosted five international delegations in partnership with the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department and the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development’s (DCED) Office of International Business Development, including a German Rail group, 20 European Union Ambassadors, digital health scale-up companies from the United Kingdom, a cross-sector trade mission from Scotland, and a Swiss Rail delegation. 

“With this new service, there is great potential to show delegations from the French, Italian, and Danish markets the region’s exceptional accessibility,” Medaglio said. “Over the past seven years, France and Italy have ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, for international inbound business attraction activity into our region. Since 2016, 13% of the Chamber’s international business attraction activity has originated from France, Italy, and Denmark, and the added nonstop service can only increase that.” 

Telling Greater Philadelphia’s Story at International Tradeshows

In 2022 and 2023, the Chamber also promoted Greater Philadelphia as an international business expansion destination at international trade shows for the life sciences and health tech industries, including the BIO International Convention and Select USA. “We’ll continue to share Greater Philadelphia’s story, including news of American’s transatlantic route expansion and developments at PHL,” Medaglio said. 

American Airlines Service at PHL 

During the summer peak, American operates more than 235 daily flights from its Northeast U.S. hub at PHL to 105+ destinations. It serves over 20 countries and brings nearly 16 million passengers through PHL annually. The addition of the summer 2024 flights to Copenhagen, Naples, and Nice brings the list of European destinations accessible with American nonstop flights from Philadelphia to 14 and adds to an already expansive list, which includes: 

  • Daily nonstop year-round to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Lisbon, London (with two flights daily), Madrid, Paris, Rome, and Zurich. This year is the first that American will operate Barcelona and Lisbon year-round nonstop from Philadelphia. 
  • Seasonal service to Athens and Venice. 

PHL Service

Atif Saeed, Chief Executive Officer, City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation, echoes the Chamber’s excitement around the business development opportunities and what this means for our region. 

“Not only is American’s addition of nonstop service to Naples, Nice, and Copenhagen good news for passengers looking to explore new European destinations, it is also fantastic for the Greater Philadelphia business community,” Saeed said. “PHL is the only American hub serving these destinations, which should create new and exciting business opportunities, both from European companies coming into the U.S. and domestic industries looking to make connections with these international markets.” 

The Bristol PHL Cool Port provides even more services for companies looking to do business in Greater Philadelphia. 

“Having a state-of-the-art cold storage facility at PHL will make our airport the premier cargo airport in the United States, given our location adjacent to I-95 and close proximity to the Port of Philadelphia,” Saeed said. 

Learn More and Engage 

You can hear more from Saeed and other regional leaders about extensive development plans at PHL and the Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) at the Chamber’s in-person State of Aviation: Developments & Opportunities event on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Use code AVIATION for $10 off member pricing.