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May 28, 2008 2:00 pm US/Central
American Cuts Some London, Honolulu Service
FORT WORTH (AP) ―
American Airlines says it plans to discontinue service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and London's Stansted Airport.
The decision comes less than a year after the service was launched. It will be effective July 2.
The move is part of the airline's recently announced plan to cut capacity in response to rising fuel prices and a faltering economy.
American said it will continue to offer its full schedule between JFK and London's Heathrow Airport.
Also Wednesday, American announced it is ending its daily Chicago-Honolulu direct flights.
Starting in September, the service will operate only on peak-demand days. Then in January, it will be dropped altogether.
The number of airline seats in and out of the islands is already down 15 percent with the loss of Aloha and ATA airlines.
Tourism officials say Hawaii had just fewer than 120,000 visitors from the Chicago area last year.
Jay Talwar of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau says officials will wait to assess the impact of the Chicago shutdown. He says American could add flights from the West Coast to accommodate travelers to and from Chicago.
Officials with American said further reductions will be announced soon. The airline plans to cut domestic flight capacity by 11 percent to 12 percent in the fourth quarter, after the peak summer season is over.
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