Another day, another set of route cuts in Austin. American Airlines retreats further in Austin by axing five additional routes, cutting flights in what was once a growing focus city for the Fort Worth based carrier.
American has cut five more destinations from Austin, eliminating flights to Las Vegas (LAS), Orlando (MCO), New Orleans (MSY), Palm Springs (PSP), and Reno (RNO). These cuts are in addition to the airline’s recently announced removal of its Austin to Indianapolis (IND) flight. This marks a massive reduction in service from the airline.
Last year, American operated flights from Austin to more than forty destinations nonstop. Since then, the airline has cut over 20 routes and will now be left with only 15 nonstop destinations from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). These destinations are:
- Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) (seasonal)
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
- Cancun International Airport (CUN)
- Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT)
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Los Cabos International Airport (SJD)
- Miami International Airport (MIA)
- Nashville International Airport (BNA)
- New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- John Wayne Airport (SNA)
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
- Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)
In announcing the route cuts, American has indicated that they expect to keep a strong presence in the Austin market. Instead of flying multiple point-to-point routes, the airline will instead focus on one stop, connecting opportunities via its hubs around the country. Though, as outlined above, some leisure destinations such as Cancun and Los Cabos remain.
The route that I’m most disappointed to see cut is New Orleans. I planned to take that flight at least once this fall to attend an LSU game but the removal leaves Southwest as the only airline operating on the route. Though, with assigned seating on the horizon, flying with them is now a much more viable option.
Austin Sees Fluctuating Demand
Over the last few months, we’ve seen tons of route cuts from Austin. Virgin Atlantic eliminated its London-Heathrow route, American is on its second round of cuts, Allegiant is closing its Austin base and eliminating flights, and JSX pulled out of the airport entirely.
However, it isn’t all doom and gloom for Austin flyers. Delta has taken a liking to the airport and is building up a rather robust focus city operation with flights to Midland/Odessa, McAllen, Nashville, Harlingen, and more. Delta competes head to head with American on two of the routes that are being eliminated, Orlando (MCO) and Las Vegas (LAS).
Many believe that Delta is squatting on gates as the airport prepares to build a new midfield concourse. This would allow the carrier to expand its footprint even more once the new gates come online. To support the expansion, regional partner SkyWest recently opened an E175 base in Austin.
Summary
American Airlines retreats even further in Austin with the elimination of five more routes. The carrier, which once operated flights to more than 40 destinations is down to just fifteen nonstop routes from AUS. In its place, Delta is quickly moving in and has added a slew of new routes as they look to build up a focus city.
If you were scheduled to fly on one of the eliminated routes, visit AA.com for rebooking options.
