Airlines are cutting routes citing pilot shortages.
Airlines in the U.S. continue to cancel flights due to pilot shortages and rising fuel prices. But the biggest losers here are the passengers from small communities who are losing connectivity as airlines pull out of their towns. It means that they have to drive longer distances to bigger airports, which adds up to higher costs for fuel, parking, and tickets. If they have one or two airlines still flying out of regional airports, they’re paying more for tickets because of a lack of competition (read: monopoly) and slim pickings.
In the past few years, American, United, and Delta have all cut flights to regional areas, and many have parked their small planes because there is no profit margin. According to CBS News, 42 markets have lost one-third or half of their air service in the last three years, and more are likely to see planes disappear from their skies.
According to the Regional Airline Association, 188 communities have lost up to 25% of their departures. Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, said in November last year, “We don’t have enough pilots to fly all the airplanes, so the 50-seaters are at the bottom of that pile, and markets that rely on 50-seaters are the ones that are going to lose service.”
These are just a handful of small towns that have become a casualty of the problems that are ailing the aviation industry.
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I would like to point out that people in the New Haven, CT area also have the option of Bradley Int'l Airport in Hartford. About 50 miles so quite doable.
As a resident of New York's northern suburbs, I have to drive an hour and a half to get to JFK or EWR, so driving an hour from Toledo to Detroit doesn't seem unreasonable. Also, New Haven residents can drive just 54 miles to Hartford's Bradley International which is much closer than the NYC metro airports.
First, thank you for the coverage on a topic that needs more light shined on it. The pilot shortage is VERY real.
Specific to the Dubuque (DBQ) story, Dubuque is 76 miles from the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID). CID is home to five airlines and 17 nonstop cities. Dubuque residents do not need to drive three hours to ORD. FlyCID.com
For New Haven it's unique. Definitely a loss with AA leaving and their national network but when they left we had just 1 daily flight. Now with Avelo, New Haven has 14 daily nonstop flights including to Chicago, BWI, Nashville, Orlando, and Raleigh.