![]() This is the case in both New Haven and Toledo where Avelo Airlines and Allegiant, respectively, continue to fly. The airlines tend to operate routes with just several flights a week, catering to holidaygoers headed to, say, Orlando but not the corporate traveler on a sales trip or to a conference. cities that have fewer than three daily flights scheduled in June, Diio data show.Īnd ULCCs, like Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines, are not panaceas for small markets. “Below three frequencies a day, really vulnerable,” Swelbar said.īinghamton and Elmira, N.Y., Columbus and Valdosta, Ga., and Roswell, N.M., are among other U.S. In Erie’s case, the Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh airports are all within a roughly two-hour drive. American’s schedule of only two daily flights to Charlotte offers limited utility to connecting travelers and increases the likelihood that they will drive to a larger airport nearby. Swelbar agreed with Raja’s comments, and added that American’s ownership of the regional affiliates in question - Envoy, Piedmont Airlines, and PSA Airlines - changes the cost equation.īut the writing may be on the wall for a place like Erie. Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja said last year that the airline could cover the increased expense with the higher yields it generates from having a broader regional network than competitors. “In the smaller communities, it’s really going to have a longer term impact.”Īmerican has repeatedly defended the move. “Regional pilot pay doubling is really going to hurt communities,” Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth said of the increases in January. The increase has since been matched at most regional airlines, and forced further changes in the space, including the retirement of many 50-seat jets. That’s when American unilaterally raised pilot pay rates at three of its wholly-owned affiliates to levels comparable with those paid at budget, or ultra low-cost, airlines. The question of regional flying economics came into sharp focus last year. And Delta has gone as far as to say will “exit” the type entirely this summer that is except for 50-seat regional jets flown by SkyWest Airlines at its own risk on federally subsidized routes that Delta does not count in its fleet plan. Whether due to the pilot shortage, economic trends, or other reasons, American, Delta, and United all flew at least 300 fewer small jets at the end of March than they did four years earlier. of 50-seat regional jets, whether Bombardier CRJ200s or Embraer ERJ-145s, contributes to the situation. ![]() Source: Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting For example, the number includes United’s decision to exit Erie, Pa., in June American continues to serve the Pennsylvania city. Not all of those markets have lost all commercial air service. ![]() “It’s different and harder now.”Ī recent analysis by Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting found that American, Delta, and United have exited a combined 74 markets since April 2020. “You can’t run your airline like it’s 2019,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in April. ![]() The trend has accelerated as the industry emerged from the pandemic facing a pilot shortage (now focused on captains), higher costs, supply chain issues, and a more challenging operating environment. last served by US Airways in 2008 and Delta in 2006, respectively, according to Cirium Diio schedules. As planes grew in size, and fuel prices and other expenses rose, airline planners could not make the math work for destinations like Farmington, N.M., or Hickory, N.C. cities have been losing air service for decades. Those air service losses have raised questions about the future of such service, both in the industry and Congress, and threatens what the Regional Airline Association (RAA) says is $152 billion in economic activity flights bring to small communities. The high cost of flying small planes, which has increased dramatically along with so many other airline industry expenses, along with limited pilot resources, has contributed to network carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines deciding to end flights to cities like New Haven, Conn., Toledo, Ohio, and Williamsport, Pa. National Transportation Research Board meeting in Washington, D.C. “This is all about economics … it really is a lot more than pilots,” the chief industry analyst at the Swelbar-Zhong Consultancy said at a U.S. is the result of changing airline economics, and not just the pilot shortage airlines face, long-time industry analyst William Swelbar said Wednesday. Dwindling air service to small cities across the U.S.
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