Q-C loses direct flight to Vegas
The Quad-City International Airport has been dealt a blow with the loss of its direct Las Vegas service on AirTran Airways.
In February, AirTran said that it was ceasing the flight for four months beginning in April due to record high fuel prices. But on Tuesday an AirTran spokeswoman confirmed that the seasonal cutback has been made permanent. The flight was to resume Aug. 19.
Judy Graham-Weaver, AirTran’s public relations manager, said the decision to cut the service was based on the “record high and ever-increasing fuel costs we are facing.”
“Las Vegas is a market that is low yield since it is primarily a leisure destination,” she said. “With fuel at the rates we are paying now, the market can’t support the fares we would need to charge for the route to be profitable, so we are dropping it from Moline.”
In all, AirTran is pulling its Las Vegas service from six markets where it launched the direct flight last year. The others are Bloomington, Ill.; Dayton and Akron-Canton, Ohio; Rochester, N.Y.; and Flint, Mich.
Bruce Carter, the Quad-City airport’s aviation director, said he learned of AirTran’s decision about 10 days ago. “Is it devastating? It’s not one of our top destinations. Las Vegas is one of those leisure markets. It’s not a high business destination,” he said, adding that Quad-City passengers still will have access to Las Vegas on AirTran by way of its Atlanta hub.
“Would we like to have it? Yes,” he said. “But I’d rather have access to all our major hubs. I would be more worried if we start losing major hubs.”
AirTran’s decision marks the second time the carrier has offered direct service from Moline to Las Vegas and then ended it. In 2004, AirTran introduced the service for a short time, but made the decision to drop it based on low bookings.
Carter said this time around, passengers already were booking flights for after Aug. 19 when the service was to resume. Those passengers are being rebooked through Atlanta by the airline, he said.
Rising fuel prices are forcing airlines to change routes and cancel flights across the country. This spring, most major airlines have announced plans to reduce their capacity by about 5 percent to reduce costs.
“The fuel is killing everybody,” Carter said. “There’s a reason why all these carriers have gone into Chapter 11.”
Despite the widespread cutbacks, he said the Quad-City airport has fared well — having only lost one other flight because of the fuel situation. On June 5, Northwest Airlink will cut one of its five daily flights between Moline and Minneapolis.
“Northwest cut one flight but Delta added one (to Atlanta beginning June 5), so we’re keeping the same number of seats in the market,” Carter said.
Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com.