Southwest
Airlines, U.S biggest domestic airline and the airline with more departures and
arrivals in Las Vegas
has announced that it will be reducing the amount of flights nationwide as part
of a series of measures to deal with the rising fuel costs and dwindling
profits. Southwest will join other airlines including US Air, Spirit, Frontier
and Allegiant Air which also reduced the amount of flights to Sin City early this year.
In only a few
weeks, the Las Vegas visitors and locals will
see a cutback in the number of flights offered by the airline (190 nationwide
and 12 in Las Vegas).
Many passengers have already expressed a general concern towards the cuts and
how they will change the way they travel. For most
travelers, Southwest reduction means fewer choices when they travel inside the
U.S, however, a spokesperson for the Dallas-based Southwest Airlines said the
cuts announced by the airline don't necessarily mean that the whole service provided
to the 12 cities will be taken out completely, only partially reduced.
In a statement
made to a TV news channel, the Southwest spokesperson restated that
"These are seasonal changes. Southwest took a look at its entire schedule
and tweaked our flights. Demand is typically lower in January and February
following the holidays."
Travelers and Las Vegas visitors will
possibly see the cut flights back on their schedule by March, but the situation
will be evaluated during the following months. The biggest concern comes when
you analyze the possible impact this could have over the city’s economy. Most
of the Las Vegas hotels and other business depend on local and foreign tourism
to survive, and since travelers are going to lose some options, the hotels and
other businesses have no option but except for dropping the prices and reduce
their profits.
Southwest is
citing the high fuel costs as one of the principal reasons behind the decision to
reduce the flights; however, Southwest says the cuts are also motivated by a considerable
reduction in the customer demand and airline flexibility during the winter
months.
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