American Airlines to end service to Halifax in 2017

HALIFAX – Starting next year, American Airlines will drop its service to and from Halifax with the last departure flight scheduled for Jan. 9, 2017.

American Airlines confirmed the move to cut the twice-daily service between Philadelphia and Halifax in a statement to News 95.7 that said any decision to cut regional service does not come lightly.

“Cancelling routes is never easy, particularly when there is a station closure involved, but it’s what allows us to expand into new markets and add more frequencies,” airline spokesperson Lakesha Brown said in an email.

“We constantly evaluate our network, looking at supply and demand for every route.”

The news from the airline comes amid a reported drop in passenger traffic last month from the company that was attributed to declines in domestic, Atlantic and Latin American traffic, which the Texas-based airline said was only offset by a traffic increase in the Pacific.

No other Canadian airports are affected by the service changes with the airline, who also said the wing work in Halifax is handled by a third-party, so no front line employees will be impacted.

Halifax International Airport Authority spokesperson Ashley Gallant confirmed the news Thursday and said the airline informed them last week they would be cancelling service.

“It’s always disappointing when we do lose a service, but we certainly understand it’s a business decision for American Airlines,” she said, pointing to a number of challenges facing airline carriers south of the border.

“One of them is the low Canadian Dollar and there’s also a pilot shortage in the United States, so we’re suggesting to passengers when they’re looking at their flights if they can, to fly direct to Halifax,” Gallant said, adding it was a situation of “use it or lose it.”

Gallant wasn’t sure of the potential impact on any local jobs as airlines hire their own baggage carriers and often share from others.

She said while losing an airline is never ideal, the Airport Authority budgets ahead in preparation for such moves so it doesn’t come as a shock to the bottom line because “it’s just the sort of market that we’re in.”

The airline’s last arrival at Halifax Stanfield International Airport is scheduled for Jan 8., 2017 from Philadelphia before the last departure the following day.

The company still expects its third quarter passenger revenue to be slightly down over the same time last year woth those results expected to be released next month.

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