American Airline's new service between San Juan and Philadelphia to benefit pharma sector

Apr 04, 2017: American Airlines has started daily, nonstop widebody service between San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín Airport (SJU) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), home of American Airlines Cargo’s dedicated 25,000-square-foot pharmaceutical facility.

The new daily Airbus A330-200 widebody route further links the two important pharma hubs and is an addition to the two daily narrowbody flights already in operation.

Puerto Rico is a global hotspot for pharmaceutical manufacturing with 12 of the world's top 20 pharma companies having a presence on the island and many of them operating from more than one location. The additional cargo capacity offered on American's new flight will provide shippers moving sensitive cold chain products an even wider choice of flights between the two cities, while at the same time providing access to both state-of-the-art facilities for their movement and handling.

The Airbus A330-200 provides increased cargo capacity compared to the other narrowbody flights and can cater to the movement of other general cargo between PHL and SJU, such as cell phones, medical instruments and aircraft parts. From PHL, customers can also connect seamlessly to the American network for continued shipping into North America, Asia and Europe.

At PHL, American's flagship pharma facility provides the highest possible level of service available. In addition to 24/7 active monitoring and full backup power generators, different temperature-control options include a 6,000-square-foot room for Controlled Room Temperature (CRT) shipments, a 3,000-square-foot space that maintains a cold (COL) environment, a deep frozen area (FRO), and a zoned active container management (ACM) area with powered charging stations for up to 30 electronically controlled containers. It is also currently on track to be one of the airline's first locations in the world to achieve CEIV status.

"Demand from customers for even greater access between these two important pharma hubs is significant and growing," states Roger Samways, vice president – American Airlines Cargo Sales.

"A daily widebody service is the perfect way to meet shipper and forwarder needs, and shows the collaborative way in which we can provide on-going support to the industry."