American Airlines cuts dozens of flights in St. Louis

KSDK -- American Airlines' restructuring plan is not welcome news for those who fly out of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Starting next April, AA will cut 46 daily flights, including 20 non-stop flights, according to Mary Francis Fagan, an American Airlines spokeswoman.

Fagan said it's a move that the company must make considering the current financial health of the airline industry.

American is adding more flights to its major hubs: Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York. It plans on focusing on those markets.

Come next spring, St. Louis passengers traveling with American Airlines will only have the option of nine non-stop flights when flying out of Lambert.

In Thursday update on his blog, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay wrote, "American is cutting service in a good market and walking away from loyal customers. "

Director of Lambert Airport Richard Hrabko said he does not understand why American is choosing St. Louis for the cuts.

"Their plan will push away more than a thousand of their own passengers each day to fly other airlines. They are turning their back on more than $100 million a year in revenues," Hrabko said.

"We operate all over the world and people's travel needs change. They may find it more desirable to fly on another carrier than American, we hope they don't. But we recognize that individuals will make the travel choices that are most important to them," Fagan said.

RCGA president Dick Fleming said while the scope of Americans decision is surprising, he remains optimistic.

"The city is going to have a very good opportunity to backfill these flights with direct service from other carriers and they have already done that with other carries over the past 18 months," Fleming said.

Here are the nine places you will be able to reach by direct flights from Lambert on American after the cuts:

--Boston
--Chicago (ORD)
--Dallas / Fort Worth
--Los Angeles
--Miami
--New York (JFK)
--New York (LGA)
--Seattle
--Washington, D.C. (DCA)

Here is the list of direct destination flights to be cut by summer 2010:

--Atlanta
--Austin
--Des Moines
--Indianapolis
--Jacksonville
--Milwaukee
--Madison, Wisconsin
--Minneapolis
--Nashville
--Newark
--New Orleans
--Norfolk
--Oklahoma city
--Orlando
--Raleigh
--Richmond
--San Antonio
--San Francisco
--Washington, D.C.
--Wichita

Direct destination flights to be cut by the end of this year (previously announced):

--Cedar Rapids, IA
--Charlotte
--Dayton, OH
--Fayetteville
--Hartford, CT
--Las Vegas
--Philadelphia
--San Diego
--Springfield, MO
--Tulsa