The government of the United States created the Essential Air Services Program to ensure that nearly 100 cities in the US have limited or no air service. Airlines are incentivized to operate in these cities but they typically cut routes to other locations. As the region’s population decreases, so will services available to residents.
Although air travel bounced back in recent years, others continue to struggle. According to the 430 airports servicing commercial passenger service in the continental United States, 76% of these airports had fewer flights scheduled in 2022 than they did before the pandemic. Smaller airports were hit the hardest.
American Airlines has had to put many of their regional jets on the ground because of a shortage in pilots. Along with cutting services, they have also been unable to provide flights at 15 cities, including Ithaca and Islip’s MacArthur Airport in New York, Toledo, Ohio, and Dubuque, Iowa. United Airlines has also centered operations more towards bigger markets in Virginia and West Virginia. Promised Delta AirLine routes for May 2020 left numerous airports but failed to return to 10 of them.
Making regional stops for passengers has been on the decline for years due to the rising price of oil. With occasional services offered and flights scheduled at odd hours, combined with increases in connection times or cancellation, it can become quite complicated and frustrating getting between cities, especially if you live in the smaller towns where the services are less frequent and harder to find.
It sounds like Missoula, Montana, a popular leisure destination has found a new way to capitalize on its surplus of hikers and outdoorsmen. Unfortunately, this change in commercial passenger services has left residents frustrated and unclear about how long certain services will be around. They’ve seen the prices skyrocket while some residential services are struggling immensely.
Setting the best prices to maximize profit
Demand for international flights is back on the rise, which might be exciting for experience-seeking vacationers and business travelers who know about the unique perks of traveling on a plane. However, these travelers need to be prepared for air travel costs to climb faster than demand.
The most popular aircraft for regional flights in the United States is Embraer’s E175, which is not considered a regional jet by the manufacturer. The 175s seat 76 passengers on average, but use about five times more fuel than a mainline jet like the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320.
For this reason, airlines keep the most profitable routes that they offer
At Cirium, we know that the best way to do the job is to use all resources at your disposal. For us, that means using more pilots and flight attendants than a plane carrying 50 people can typically provide in order to lower costs and increase revenue.
Dubuque, Iowa, has suffered significantly since American Airlines stopped their service to the airport. In response to this, flights and times varied for the past two years. However, on September 7th, 2018, American Airlines cancelled all of its service from Dubuque. Airport authorities have been working hard to restore commercial services but in the recent months there have been developments with a startup airlines Avelo that will provide twice-weekly service between Dubuque and Orlando beginning in February 2023.