Service cuts by American airlines will hit Philadelphia harder than in other American Airlines cities. That’s not good news for northern Delaware business and leisure travelers.
Information from a tracking service indicated the flight cuts that will total about 185,000 seats during September and October..
The cuts typically involve fewer flights to popular destinations like Las Vegas and Miami and may not be that big a deal for business travelers.
The story noted that American wants to restore service but is struggling with a shortage of flight crews and other personnel.
Since the merger with US Airways a decade ago, American has coped with labor relations and other issues related to Philadelphia – said to be less profitable than its other Eastern hub in Charlotte, NC. The flight schedule from Charlotte has increased, while the schedule has been reduced, although flights were added back before Covid.
Philadelphia is still a “fortress hub” that can limit away head-to-head completion. Still, discount carriers like Frontier and Spirit have been nibbling away at the leisure market.
Also, Southwest, while it ended New England short-haul flights from Philadelphia about a decade ago after stiff resistance from USAir, has built a focus airport at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport that can offer lower fares with features that include allowing two bags at no extra charge, a boon for business travelers lugging goods to trade shows or other events.
Southwest also maintains a flight schedule from Philadelphia that offers affordable connections to many cities in its network.
Frontier-Spirit non-merger
When Frontier Airlines ended service from New Castle Airport earlier in the year, one factor that was cited by Delaware airport officials was a possible merger with Spirit Airlines.
Shareholders of Spirit preferred the all-cash offer from Jet Blue and Frontier was not inclined to overpay. The Jet Blue deal will move forward with Frontier walking away not entirely disappointed.
After all, the Spirit-Jet Blue merger is not a sure thing with the deal up for review by antitrust officials.
In the meantime, Frontier is getting new fuel-efficient jets and can nibble away at American, Southwest, and other carriers on some routes.
Frontier has a slightly different business model, although it mimics Spirit’s fare structure, with lower base charges while adding on additional baggage and seat assignment fees. Spirit typically operates daily service, while Frontier pretty much pursues the leisure market and often schedules flights on the most popular travel days.
Philadelphia remains a good market for Frontier. It is also offering more flights to popular destinations in Florida. Cutbacks by American in Philadelphia and disruptions that might come from Jet Blue converting Spirit’s fleet could provide additional opportunities.
Frontier is cutting Philadelphia service to Houston, San Antonio and Kansas City in December, the Philadelphia Business Journal. (subscription) reported.
Frontier, as was the case in Delaware, is prone to enter and exit markets on short notice if passenger traffic lags.
Frontier adds Vegas-BWI service
On a related note, Frontier is becoming more bold in taking on Southwest at Baltimore-Washington.
Beginning today, the airline offers a daily nonstop to Las Vegas. Southwest currently offers a couple of daily nonstop to Sin City.
Frontier currently serves six destinations from BWI. It puts a bit of pricing pressure on Southwest, which is not afraid to raise fares on routes where it has leverage.
At the same time, lower fares at BWI put the squeeze on other airlines, typically with connecting flights to their hub cities.
