American Airlines will drop flights to 15 smaller cities in the United States in October if a federal requirement to serve those communities ends.
The airline blamed the low demand during the coronavirus pandemic, which caused a massive drop in air traffic. Airlines and their unions are seeking billions in taxpayer relief.
American said its schedule from Oct. 7 through Nov. 3 will reduce flights to cities including Sioux City, Iowa; New Haven, Connecticut; and Springfield, Illinois.
“This is the first step as American continues to evaluate its network and plans for additional schedule changes in the coming weeks,” the airline said in a prepared statement.
A massive pandemic relief measure approved in March put up to $ 50 billion in cash and low-interest loans for the nation’s passenger companies. American was the largest recipient – US $ 10.7 billion as a current loan wins final approval from the United States Treasury Department.
In exchange for taxpayer dollars, airlines were excluded from unemployed workers and were in most cases required to maintain destinations they had before the pandemic. Both of these conditions expire September 30th.
Passenger companies and their unions are lobbying for an additional US $ 25 billion to keep workers paid and prevent fires through March. Cargo planes and contractors would receive US $ 7 billion.
The pressure from Airlines and Labor has received significant support in Washington. A majority of the Democratic-controlled House voted in favor of the extra money, as did 16 Republicans from the House of Representatives. President Donald Trump spoke favorably about helping airlines when asked about the proposal.
However, the provision is wrapped up in talks over a larger package for virus relief that would include expanded unemployment benefits, and, Democrats hope, support for cities and state governments. The fate of that measure is unclear after negotiations between Congress Democrats and the White House broke down more than a week ago.
An American Airlines executor cited the strike in Washington for the airline’s decision to cut services to some destinations before they were announced Thursday.
“We kept it, and hoped that we would reach some kind of agreement that would extend (the salary) and expand the service. That broader negotiation seems to stand still, and this is a sad victim of it, ”said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity to explain private conversations about the decision.
Without more federal money, companies could lay off or leave tens of thousands of workers as early as October 1st. American has warned 25,000 workers that they could lose their jobs. United Airlines has sent messages about 36,000 employees. The final number of cuts will depend on how many employees are offering deals, early retirement or long-term leave.
The requirement to maintain most airlines flying airlines before the pandemic has not been popular with airlines, as many of them do not have many passengers. The Department of Transportation agreed to allow airlines to drop a few cities as other carriers passed through, but many other requests were denied.
American Airlines lost more than US $ 2 billion in its most recent quarter.
Industry analysts believe that Americans not only ax cities with the least flights than seats. The airline likely considered other factors, such as competition and key customers, they said.
“It’s a nightmare for a network planner to pull out of a city,” said Jim Ogden, product director at aviation data firm Cirium and a former network planner for America. “When you close a city, you cut those customers off to your entire network.”
Americans could continue to serve the smaller cities in a limited capacity, either through flights at nearby airports or by selling tickets to flights operated there by another carrier, a practice called code-sharing.
Other cities that fell American from the October schedule are Del Rio, Texas; Dubuque, Iowa; Florence, South Carolina; Greenville, North Carolina; Huntington, West Virginia; Joplin, Missouri; Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Michigan; Lake Charles, Louisiana; New Windsor, New York; Roswell, New Mexico; Stillwater, Oklahoma; and Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
– AP
