Southern California travelers are about to have a lot fewer options in the sky.
American Airlines is reportedly suspending six domestic routes later this year, including four nonstop flights out of Los Angeles International Airport, as soaring fuel costs force the carrier to trim parts of its network.
The cuts will hit routes connecting Los Angeles with Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Washington Dulles, according to aviation industry reports. American is also suspending service between Charlotte (CLT) and Ontario and Charlotte and Sacramento.
The route suspensions are reportedly expected to take effect between August and October as airlines grapple with higher operating costs fueled in part by ongoing geopolitical tensions and oil prices. American expects surging fuel costs to tack a staggering $4 to $5 billion onto expenses this year alone, reported Reuters.
For ordinary travelers, the retreat means fewer nonstop flight options, annoying layovers and presumably higher ticket prices.
While airlines frequently tweak schedules, American is abandoning routes that were minted as recently as April, underscoring how aggressively carriers are reacting to pain at the pump.
These six flight paths might sound niche to some, but it appears they handled heavy traffic. These combined markets saw more than 1.4 million round trip passengers last year, according to data from the Department of Transportation reviewed by Simple Flying.
The biggest casualty is the LAX-to-Washington Dulles route, which reportedly saw nearly 650,000 local passengers last year.
With jet fuel prices at LAX reportedly trading up to 50% higher than in other domestic markets, American pulling out suggests that it isn’t willing to fight the competition in this particular region.
“Our business is very dependent on the price and availability of aircraft fuel,” American Airlines reported in a quarterly financial statement on April 23. “Continued periods of high volatility in fuel costs, increased fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel could have a significant negative impact on consumer demand, our operating results and liquidity.”
American isn’t the only carrier hitting the brakes, though. Norse Atlantic Airways scrapped all flights from LAX for the upcoming summer season due to rising jet fuel costs linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
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