Austin, Texas, used to be considered one of the hottest
cities in the country.
American Airlines certainly thought so.
Now, apparently, it doesn’t think so anymore.
In a significant network shake-up, American has reversed its
thinking about Austin and cut
21 routes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).
And the flight cuts aren’t just to secondary airports. They
include such big names as Washington, DC, Kansas City, Tampa and the Bahamas.
In a statement, American said, “Austin remains an important
market for American as we continuously evaluate our network. Together with our
partners, American will continue to offer customers service to 15 of the top 20
markets from AUS, while continuing to offer one-stop connections across our
comprehensive global network to more than 350 destinations around the world.”
American will still have connecting flights to most of its
hubs, with the exception of Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington and LaGuardia
in New York.
American also said that while the number of cuts might be
daunting, it still plans to offer 19 more flights than it did in 2019 out of
Austin. Most noteworthy, almost all the flights cut out of Austin were on
American Airlines regional planes.
Still, Texas’ capital city did not seem to work out for
American. Austin is about a four-hour drive from American’s headquarters and
central hub in Dallas. The cuts are somewhat of a surprise since American
invested so much in its service from Austin just four years ago.
Those included domestic and international flights.
Southwest Airlines and Delta are poised to step in and fill
the void left by American.
Whether American will follow through on its plans to build a
15,000-square-foot lounge at the airport in Austin remains to be seen.
Both Dallas-based airlines, American and Southwest, are
dealing with possible
strike issues.
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