Airport losing LR nonstops to D.C.

US Airways is ending its daily nonstop flights between Little Rock and Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport, the result of the merger of the airline and American Airlines.

Little Rock’s Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/ Adams Field is one of 17 airports where the combined US Airways and American Airlines will discontinue flights, according to an announcement Wednesday by the combined company, American Airlines Group Inc.

The two companies agreed in November to give up flights to Reagan National as part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in exchange for the agency dropping an antitrust lawsuit that jeopardized the merger.

Other cities losing daily nonstop US Airways service to Reagan National include San Diego, Detroit and Minneapolis, according to the news release.

Customers will still have access to Reagan National through connecting flights from the airline’s eight hubs, the news release said.

“We worked extremely hard to keep service to the Nation’s Capitol, however the required divestiture of slots at Reagan National combined with a lack of demand from passengers led to the route being discontinued,” said Shane Carter, a spokesman for the Little Rock airport, in a statement. “Since it began in March 2012, the route has consistently struggled to meet performance goals.”

US Airways initially offered two flights a day, but reduced it to one because there weren’t enough passengers to sustain the service, he said.

A date has not been set for when the direct flight between Little Rock and Washington will end, said Matt Miller, a spokesman for American Airlines.

While Clinton National is losing its flight to Washington, D.C., it is gaining a nonstop flight to LaGuardia Airport, Carter said.

“The Airport Commission has been working with American for several months to finalize details on nonstop service from Little Rock to LaGuardia that will begin in April,” he said in a statement. “This announcement is responsive to business travelers requesting non-stop service to the financial capital, and certainly to those who want a quicker way to experience all of the excitement that the Big Apple offers.”

American Airlines Group will begin new flights to LaGuardia from other cities, including Richmond, Va., Knoxville, Tenn. and Dayton, Ohio, according to the news release.

The company will end nonstop service from LaGuardia to Atlanta, Cleveland and Minneapolis.

American Airlines Group’s flight changes are not expected to affect employees, the company said in its news release.

“We continue to make excellent progress on our integration efforts, and look forward to delivering on the promise of the new American for our customers, employees, communities and shareholders as soon as possible,” said Scott Kirby, president of American Airlines, in a statement.

Business, Pages 27 on 01/16/2014

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