When airlines cut flights to Charlotte, it can be about us (local economy), them (how and what the airline itself is doing in general), or fuel prices. As you’ve probably noticed, fuel prices are up, and that means that some flight reductions are coming. Most of these fuel-cost related cuts will take effect come the fall. But don’t let that fool you: three airlines have made significant cuts in capacity to CLT recently, cuts that don’t have anything to do with the situation in Egypt or Libya.
JetBlue: Last year, JetBlue built up service to Boston, going from a single flight a day in March to four flights a day by July. How did that work out? Not so well — Boston had the lowest average fares to/from Charlotte of any place in the country in 3Q2010. JetBlue cut service back down to two flights a day to Boston in February, and it stays at that level through the summer. So overall, five flights a day now and over the summer, down from a peak of seven last year, as they also fly to JFK three times a day.
Continental: Had been the star of the non-US Airways carriers at CLT, with a significant build-up in flights to both Newark and Houston over the past few years. So much for that. Newark, which had been at six flights a day, four on Boeing 737s seating between 114 and 160 and two on 50-seat regional jets, is down to a pair of 737s and two or three RJs through June. The July schedule current shows as only one 737 and three RJs, a 60 percent+ reduction in capacity as compared to July 2011. Houston which had been a 737 and seven RJs, just lost two afternoon RJ flights. Flights to Cleveland are unaffected and remain at 4 50-seaters.
United: Has nine flights a total of 9 flights a day to CLT from Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles. Last year, two of their flights were on mainline aircraft (Airbus A320 or A319) and the rest on 66-seat regional jets that feature a first-class section. This year, there are still nine flights, but only one is on an Airbus, six are on 66-seat regional jets, and the remaining two are on the dreaded 50-seat regional jets, which are more claustrophobic and don’t have first-class section.
