BREAKING: American slashes flights as travel wanes
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Charlotte’s dominant airline tries to cope with drop in air travel
American Airlines, Charlotte’s largest carrier, plans to dramatically reduce the number of flights it offers as travelers are sticking close to home because of the coronavirus.
In an update posted to the airline’s website on Tuesday morning, American said it is reducing international capacity by 10% during the summer and dropping domestic capacity by 7.5% in April. Capacity is the number of seats the airline offers, and reducing capacity is a way to save money and keep ticket prices higher.
Some of the changes announced that affect Charlotte include:
Extending the suspension of service from Charlotte to Milan through early summer.
Suspending service from Charlotte to Rome and Barcelona through June 3.
The airline did not announce any other specifics about schedule changes from Charlotte. Flights most likely to be cut are those flying to cities that American serves with multiple flights per day.
In addition, the airline announced big reductions in flights to Asia, most of which leave from Dallas or Los Angeles. Other airlines have announced similar moves.
The reduction in service from Charlotte and other American hub airports reflects the recent drop in demand for air travel. Many businesses have instituted bans on employee travel, which is a particular problem for airlines, because business travelers account for a huge portion of revenue.
Tricky business: The airline industry can be a tricky business, because its costs are mostly fixed and it is unusually dependent on the price of oil. In addition, the industry is vulnerable to outside shocks that keep people from flying. American’s stock has plunged by 49% since the start of the year. Ouch.
Fee waivers: Also on Tuesday, American announced it is extending fee waivers for travel through April 30.
American seems to be hoping that most service can return to normal by May or June. But of course, nobody knows how long this concern about the coronavirus will last.
In recent days, some planes have been flying almost empty:
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