After announcing it was pulling flights from 15 cities, American Airlines is pausing on plans for Roswell, N.M., Sioux City, Iowa and Joplin, Mo.
American Airlines will slow plans to drop service to three of the 15 cities it announced last week, but the future of the carrier in those markets is still in doubt with the continuing travel industry downturn due to COVID-19.
The Fort Worth-based airline said it will hold off on dropping service to Roswell, N.M., while it talks with city and airport leaders there. American is also pausing plans to leave Sioux City, Iowa, and Joplin, Mo., but still intends to drop service if it gains Department of Transportation approval.
Sioux City and Joplin are deemed “essential air service” cities — a designation that dates back to the deregulation of the airline industry in 1978. The federal government provides subsidies to some smaller cities to ensure a minimal level of air service in locations that otherwise might not be profitable.
“In the absence of an extension of the Payroll Support Program, we’re faced with a host of difficult decisions to right-size our airline, given the significant and sustained drop in demand we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said American Airlines spokeswoman Nichelle Tait. “While our flights to Roswell are among those that have suffered when it comes to demand and profitability, we have been in touch with local officials and will defer our decision to suspend service to the market as those conversations are ongoing.”
With American Airlines as the only airline flying into Roswell, Mayor Dennis Kintigh said the city relies on the carrier for tourism, economics and getting local residents across the country.
“It’s more than 2 1/2 hours to get to the next nearest city with air service,” Kintigh said. “It would be a major loss for us.”
Related:American Airlines lists 15 cities that will lose air service when stimulus money expires
Tait said American Airlines hasn’t decided how long it will continue air service to Roswell. Small cities looking to maintain air service often have financial tools available, such as the ability to reduce landing and gate fees or spending marketing dollars to promote routes and airline service.
Roswell is also an important stop for American Airlines because it houses dozens of parked planes at Roswell International Air Center, including its idled 737 Max jets.
With the Sioux City and Joplin routes, American plans to apply this week to the transportation department to drop service “in the absence of a PSP extension that maintains the CARES Act service requirements,” Tait said.
The 15 cities where American Airlines may cut service
American said it will suspend service to these destinations as early as Oct. 7 unless a stimulus bill is passed that gives payroll support to air carriers.
City Airport code
Del Rio, Texas DRT
Dubuque, Iowa DBW
Florence, S.C. FLO
Greenville, N.C. PGV
Huntington, W. Va. HTS
Joplin, Mo. JLN
Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Mich. AZO
Lake Charles, La. LCH
New Haven, Conn. HVN
New Windsor, N.Y. SWF
Roswell, N.M. ROW
Sioux City, Iowa SUX
Springfield, Ill. SPI
Stillwater, Okla. SWO
Williamsport, Pa. IPT
Steve Stockam, director of Joplin Regional Airport, said he hopes that any cuts American makes are temporary and that service will return as air travel improves.
Airlines, including American, and employee union leaders are pressuring federal lawmakers to move ahead with a second major stimulus package that could include billions of dollars more to subsidize airline jobs. Air industry officials want to extend the same program Congress passed in March that gave American about $4.1 billion in grants and more than $6 billion in loans, but in exchange protected jobs and required service to continue to all airports the airlines served before the COVID-19 pandemic.
American Airlines has also said that it will furlough 17,500 workers in October if a federal stimulus bill isn’t passed.