American Is Cutting Flights to 5 Major Cities, Starting Oct. 29
The carrier is also resuming service between two major cities in October.
The height of summer travel has been defined by reports of widespread delays and cancellations. Just this week, thousands of flights were disrupted due to severe storms in the eastern U.S., leaving travelers stranded. But while it's unfortunate to learn that your flight is canceled when you're already at the airport, airlines do work to give passengers a heads-up when they make changes well in advance. Now, American Airlines is doing just that, announcing schedule shifts that will impact a few routes to and from major cities this fall. Read on to find out where American is cutting flights, starting Oct. 29.
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Three cities will have decreased service.
American Airlines is cutting the number of flights between Boston and Louisville, Kentucky; and Boston and Columbus, Ohio, a spokesperson confirmed to Best Life.
Service between Boston and Louisville will decrease from twice daily to once daily, while service between Boston and Columbus will decrease from three times daily to two times daily.
These changes go into effect on Oct. 29, the airline said.
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One flight route between two additional cities is being axed.
In addition to reducing some daily service, American is cutting one route between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, to Monterrey International Airport (MYT) in Mexico this winter. The route was first launched in Nov. 2022, The Points Guy (TPG) reported.
"Due to soft demand, American Airlines has made the difficult decision to suspend service between New York (JFK) and Monterrey, Mexico (MTY) effective December 20, 2023," the American spokesperson said in a statement, noting that passengers can still book flights to Monterrey from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Miami (MIA), and Phoenix (PHX).
They added, "We are proactively reaching out to impacted customers to offer alternate travel arrangements."
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A former route is picking back up again.
However, for those who often fly to and from Boston and New York, you're in luck. American will resume service between LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) as of Oct. 29, the spokesperson told Best Life.
The spokesperson added that service will be offered between the two Northeastern cities four times daily.
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The changes follow a court ruling from May.
According to TPG, these changes follow the disbanding of American Airlines' and JetBlue's partnership, known as the Northeast Alliance (NEA). The partnership was put in place in early 2021, but is now unraveling after a federal judge in Boston determined that the agreement reduced competition among airlines, NPR reported in May. The NEA officially ended on July 21.
When it began, the partnership was intended to help both airlines establish more of a presence in New York and Boston, with American and JetBlue working together to "optimize their combined networks," TPG reported. As part of this partnership, American launched the Boston to Louisville and New York to Monterrey routes, which JetBlue didn't offer.
TPG reported that American has plans to appeal the ruling, but both airlines have already started making changes to their schedules. The outlet also pointed out that two routes in question (Boston-Louisville and New York-Monterrey) "no longer make sense" for American, which is amending its schedule to address the ended partnership and impending transfers of takeoff and landing slots back to JetBlue.
In the statement to Best Life, American confirmed that it is still in conversation with JetBlue. "We continue to work with JetBlue and through the legal process for an orderly transition of slots related to the NEA," the spokesperson said.
