American Airlines is planning on reducing its direct flights to Haiti’s capital as of this fall.
Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles reports,
As of Nov. 3, passengers traveling on American will no longer be able to fly direct to Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport or New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, the U.S.-based carrier announced Tuesday.
The decision will cut the number of American Airlines flights to Haiti each day from six to four — all departing from Miami International Airport, and including a daily flight to Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second largest city. The cuts are part of a series of reductions including the end of service into Scotland’s Glasgow Airport and Mexico’s Puebla International Airport.
“It just makes for much more viable economics,” said Peter Vittori, American’s managing director of sales for Florida, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Vittori said the decision has been in the works for a while and the airline has “gone back and forth.”
The reductions, Vitorri said, will not affect the airlines’ staff in Haiti.
“It’s a big loss for us,” said Guy Francois, Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, the Haitian government ministry dedicated to the diaspora. “But it’s an opportunity for other airlines to come aboard and provide direct service to Haiti.”
The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood route began in 2014, the same year American Airlines launched its direct service from Miami to Cap-Haitien.
This letter started circulating online and via whatsapp earlier today. We spoke to Guy Francois, Minister of Haitians Living Abroad and he confirmed the letter is real and Haiti will not be the only country affected.
According to View From The Wing, here are all the routes American is cutting while they promote growth to Europe. American shared that they’ll be eliminating Chicago – Shanghai and reducing Chicago – Tokyo service while adding plenty of flying to Europe. They’re also cutting plenty of other services too. In fact, they are cutting more than they are adding.
- Philadelphia will lose Frankfurt and Munich service. This offsets the addition of Dallas and Charlotte to Munich.
- They’re dropping Dallas-Fort Worth – Pueblo, Mexico, and closing that station December 18.
- Chicago isn’t just losing Shanghai, American is eliminating Chicago – Manchester, U.K. as well.
- Los Angeles – Toronto is being eliminated, though they plan to offer special event non-stops such as for the Toronto Film Festival. Los Angeles also loses one of two daily Mexico City frequencies.
- New York JFK loses Dublin. Their seasonal service ends in late October and will not return. So the Dallas – Dublin flight isn’t really growth to Europe. New York is also losing Edinburgh service, so the new Philadelphia – Edinburgh flight actually just continues the shift away from New York to Philadelphia as the carrier’s transatlantic gateway.
- New York JFK – Port-au-Prince and Fort Lauderdale – Port-au-Prince is being eliminated.
