Jun 25, 2008 3:49 pm US/Eastern
American Airlines Outlines Service Cutbacks
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) ―
American Airlines will cut back flying later this year at many airports, including hubs in Dallas and Chicago, as it attempts to cope with record high fuel prices.
The nation's largest carrier gave more details Wednesday about capacity reductions it announced last month.
American said it will reduce departures at its Chicago O'Hare Airport hub by 28 flights and sister airline American Eagle would cut 34 flights, beginning in September.
At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, American will cut 19 departures and Eagle will ground 23 flights.
American said it will cut eight daily departures in St. Louis and five at New York's LaGuardia Airport. American Eagle and AmericanConnection will cut 35 flights in St. Louis and 37 Eagle flights at LaGuardia.
Fort Worth-based American had already said it was closing operations in Oakland, Calif., and at London's Stansted Airport in September, and it said Wednesday it would end service to Barranquilla, Colombia.
Eagle will end operations in Albany, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; Harrisburg, Pa.; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; and Samana, Dominican Republic.
American announced last month it will cut domestic capacity 11 percent to 12 percent, and Eagle will cut capacity 10 percent to 11 percent, compared with levels of late 2007. The company is trying to reduce costs in the face of fuel prices that have nearly doubled in the past year, surpassing labor as American's biggest expense.
Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard Arpey said last month that American will probably eliminate thousands of jobs as a result of fewer flights, but the company has not yet disclosed a precise figure.
A spokesman said Wednesday that job effects might not be known for some time. The company repeated Wednesday that it intends to offer voluntary-departure programs to reduce layoffs.
Shares of parent AMR Corp. rose 17 cents, or 3 percent, to $5.88 in afternoon trading.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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