Mexico Service Cut by US Airlines

Last Friday, several major United States airlines mentioned that they are making plans to temporarily reduce their services to Mexico because of swine flu fears that keep a lot of United States travelers from going to the southern part of the border. The biggest United States carrier to Mexico, Continental Airlines Inc. also mentioned that it is planning to reduce the seat count that flies to Mexico starting on Monday. This airline, which is based in Houston, Texas, also mentioned that it will work with the travelers so they can get to where they have to go even though the schedules and the routes could also change.

Other Airlines

The US Airways Group Inc. also said that they too will be cutting flights to Mexico especially during the May and also June departure times at around thirty eight percent starting May 10. Delta Air Lines Inc. also mentioned that it will reduce their Mexico service in order to match their declining demand – however, it was not able to indicate just exactly how deep these cuts would be. UAL Corp.’s United Airlines also said that they are planning to cut the their week-based flights to Mexico – specifically, from sixty one to twenty four for the month. This will start on Tuesday, according to the company. The June schedule shall also drop their flights from ninety each week to around fifty two. United Airlines also mentioned that Mexico will be representing around less than two percent of its total capacity. Southwest Airlines Co. also does not have any flights to Mexico, but the chief executive mentioned that bookings around the United States shall also be on the soft wise the previous week due to some concerns about flying.

Air Travel Effect

Gary Kelly, the chief executive officer of Southwest airlines also mentioned to The Associated Press that such has an effect mainly on air travel. There were a lot of booking during the week which have become quite erratic though it also seems that we are off-trend. None would be too surprised if it was found out that traffic has had an impact on the succeeding weeks due to a concern such as this. Kelly also failed to provide other numbers because the schools that were operating close by – such as Fort Worth, which is the largest in the district to shut down campuses – as well as public events are canceled in order to avoid the spread of the virus. Due to this, air traffic could also fall. Continental Airlines also said that it is planning to reduce their May flights by around forty percent and also use much smaller planes. However, it will continue to fly to all of the twenty nine Mexican cities that it serves. It also mentioned that the extension on the waiver policy will allow the customers to change their Mexico itineraries without incurring any penalties.