ATLANTA/NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Airways (LCC.N), Continental
Airlines (CAL.N) and United Airlines parent UAL Corp (UAUA.O) temporarily cut
service to Mexico on Friday, citing lower demand for flights to the country
hardhit by a flu outbreak.
U.S. Airways said late on Friday they would cut 38 percent of its scheduled
flights to 12 cities in Mexico between May 10 and July 1.
Earlier on Friday, Continental and United also announced reductions effective
Monday in their service to Mexico, which has reported 176 deaths from the new
strain of Influenza A (H1N1), originally called swine flu.
Chicago-based United said it would cut flight departures to Mexico by 60 percent
in May to just 24 flights a week. In June, United, which has less than 2 percent
of its consolidated capacity dedicated to the country, will offer 52 weekly
flights.
Continental said it would cut flight departures by about 40 percent and also
halve its capacity on flights.
The Houston-based carrier offers more seats than any foreign airline into and
out of Mexico, according to data provided exclusively to Reuters by airline
schedules consultant Innovata.
Prior to these reductions, Continental said it operated an average of 450 weekly
flights to the country.
Continental said the reductions amount to about 2 percent of its systemwide
capacity for May, compared with its original schedule.
The three U.S. carriers join other global carriers that have reduced links to
the country. Air Canada (ACa.TO) said it was temporarily suspending operations
to popular resorts such as Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, and Spain's Air Europa
said it would cut charter flights.
AMR Corp (AMR.N), parent of American Airlines has said they are closely watching
the situation.
The World Health Organization says experts do not yet know enough about the new
flu strain to say how deadly it is and how long any potential pandemic may last.
Worldwide 15 countries have confirmed cases, the latest being South Korea. [ID:nNFLUTOLL]
DOCTORS ON PLANES
Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE) announced contingency plans to cut
flights and drop routes amid the crisis, and said it would place doctors on its
planes to Mexico in hopes of detecting any flu infections early.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned earlier this week that
the flu outbreak would compound financial problems for airlines, which are
struggling as the global recession depresses travel demand.
Earlier this week, cruise operators Carnival Corp (CCL.L) (CCL.N) and Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL.N) (RCL.OL) said they were temporarily halting port
calls by their vessels in Mexico.
The Amex airline index .XAL rose 3.6 percent on Friday.
(Reporting by Karen Jacobs; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher,Kyle Peterson and
Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Brian Moss, Bernard Orr)
Source : Thomson Reuters
