HIGHFILL : Airport will lose nonstop to coast
Posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2008
American Eagle intends to end its daily flight to Los Angeles from the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport after April 6.
Andrea Huguely, an American Eagle spokesman, said the elimination of the once-a-day flight to Los Angeles is part of American Airline’s directive to its regional partner to cut unprofitable routes. American Eagle is a regional partner of American Airlines.
“We are just going though and looking at routes that aren’t performing well and making those cuts,” Huguely said. “We would not cut it if it was profitable.”
Kelly Johnson, the airport’s director, said she failed to convince the airline that it was a mistake to end the route. It’s the regional airport’s only direct flight to the West Coast.
“It’s a regional jet, and the fuel on that route just pummeled them,” Johnson said. “They aren’t seeing the advanced bookings, and people are really pulling back in buying airline tickets. That’s not to say it’s gone forever.”
The announcement came as the Northwest Arkansas airport in Highfill on Monday reported a steep decline in October passengers. The 50, 157 passengers who boarded flights last month was down 9. 9 percent when compared with October 2007.
It was the sixth consecutive month the airport reported a decrease in boardings compared with the same month last year.
American Eagle started service to Los Angeles in August 2003 and last year expanded it, adding a second flight before rolling back to one again. Almost all of those flights were on CRJ-700 s, a 70-passenger jet.
Dee Dee Cullipher, a travel agent with Design Travel in Rogers, said she didn’t know until Monday about American Eagle’s plan to cut the Los Angeles service from the schedule.
“I’m surprised to see them cut that because we sell that flight a lot,” Cullipher said. “We used it a lot for people going to Los Angeles and then Hawaii. It was one stop, and you were there.”
Cullipher said she expects to route passengers on American Eagle through Dallas / Fort Worth or United Airlines through Denver to get her Arkansas customers to the West Coast.
Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association, said the cut by American Eagle is typical of what’s going on with the airline industry in a weak economy.
“What we’ve seen all year in response to the dramatic rise in fuel prices and now cemented by the recession has been a cutback in capacity by mainline and regional air carriers,” Cohen said. “Dozens of communities have lost at least one carrier, and virtually every community has seen a reduction in service.”
American still sells seats on flights to Chicago O’Hare, Dallas / Fort Worth, St. Louis and New York LaGuardia from the regional airport.
American Eagle ended service to three airports from the Northwest Arkansas airport earlier this year: Raleigh, N. C., in May, Miami in June and Washington Reagan in September.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
