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More airlines look to trim flights
HOUSTON, Texas -- Continental Airlines, the No. 5 U.S. carrier, has joined European and Asian airlines in temporarily suspending some flights as war fears scare away travelers. Continental said both transpacific and transatlantic routes will be affected. Other large U.S. carriers American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, said Tuesday they might follow Continental in cutting flights. Airlines around the world say travel has suffered from the impending war in Iraq, and have announced plans to cut capacity to match demand. Those carriers include Japan Airlines, Korean Air and Thai Airways International in Asia, and British Airways in Europe. Other airlines will re-route services to avoid expected hotspots in the Middle East. Continental said it will cut service between Newark and Tokyo to four times a week from once a day through April 24. It is also dropping one of two daily round-trip flights from its Newark hub to London's Gatwick Airport and Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport. The changes are planned for April 6 to May 1, the airline said. It said it will cut one of two daily flights between Houston and Gatwick between April 6 and May 1, and cut service between Cleveland and Gatwick to five times a week from once a day between April 15 and May 1. Continental, which is based in Houston, said if demand remains soft, it might make further schedule changes. Other U.S. carriersTodd Burke, a spokesman for AMR Corp.'s American Airlines Inc., the world's largest carrier, said American might cut flights if war begins. "We have not canceled any flights at this time, but we will be closely monitoring the situation in the days ahead," he told Reuters news agency. Jeff McAndrews, a spokesman for UAL Corp.'s United Airlines Inc., the No. 2 U.S. carrier, told Reuters "any kind of conflict in Iraq may cause United to pull down its schedule 10-12 percent, but we have not made any announcements." Peggy Estes, a spokeswoman for No. 3 U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc., said: "Delta is currently monitoring the situation, but has not made any decisions regarding further capacity or network changes." Northwest Airlines Corp, the No. 4 U.S. carrier, is "studying the issue" of whether to cut flights, spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said. British Airways, Europe's biggest airline, said on Tuesday it was canceling flights from Israel's Tel Aviv from Wednesday until further notice. The last flight from Kuwait, where 250,000 U.S. and British troops are based ready for the push to Baghdad, was expected to land in London Wednesday at 0620 GMT. BA's Karen Franklin told CNN that the move was in response to the British Foreign Office advice to the general public to avoid travel in the area. In Asia, Korean Air has already announced plans to halt flights on 29 routes to Europe and the U.S. Thai Airways International said it plans to suspend flights to Kuwait and Bahrain from March 20. The Australian carrier Qantas, said it would cut the equivalent of 1,000 jobs by forcing staff to take leave as it trims expenses ahead of the looming conflict. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has already routed its Rome service via Russian air space to avoid the Middle East, but says it has no plans to suspend its services to Bahrain, Dubai and Riyadh. Singapore Airlines has also said it will re-route its services between Europe and Asia and Australia in the event of war. Japan Airlines said on March 13 it would cut the number of flights to Paris and Indonesia because of falling passenger demand. However, European carriers Air France, Lufthansa and Swiss Air said they had no immediate plans to cancel flights. Dutch carrier KLM said it had changed its Kuwait schedule from a night flight to a day flight. "We are very well prepared with a specialized team looking into all scenarios, but we cannot see what kind of impact the war will have until it starts," a spokesperson said. European, Asian and U.S. airline stocks have risen as crude oil prices slump, lowering the cost of fuel. Asian airline stocks rose on Tuesday, with Korean Air up 9 percent, Qantas up 4 percent and Singapore Airlines, the region's most profitable carrier, up 3.13 percent. Markets are more muted Wednesday, with Qantas steady in early trade in Australia and Japan Airlines up half a percent in Tokyo. In Japan, the expected decline in airline passengers and cargo traffic has prompted the Transport Ministry to consider providing emergency loans via the Development Bank of Japan to Japanese airlines, the Nihon Keizai business daily said Wednesday. Reuters contributed to this report.
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