Frauds, Fakes, Or Fabulous
Jun 26, 2008 8:15 pm US/Eastern
United Airlines Halting Flights In Fort Lauderdale
Also cutting out flight in West Palm Beach
Miami International Airport May Be Benefitting With More Traffic From United
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
With fuel costs continuing to rise, the struggling airline carrier United Airlines has announced it will stop flying to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in September.
United, the nation's second largest airline, said it is cutting flight capacity because of fuel costs and plans to consolidate operations in South Florida at Miami International Airport, where it can benefit the most from international connecting traffic.
The airline has four daily flights in Fort Lauderdale. One goes to Denver, two to Chicago and one to Washington, D.C. There is also one United Flight out of West Palm Beach. All will stop flying on September 5.
Sixty-six workers, both part-time and salaried will lose their jobs with the cutbacks. However, the company spokesman says the 50 workers in Fort Lauderdale and 16 in West Palm Beach will be eligible for jobs at other United locations.
United also recently announced it will eliminate 950 pilots this year.
Passengers with flights reserved after Sept. 2 will be able to take United flights out of Miami or rebook on another airline. They also may request refunds.
United flights out of Fort Lauderdale represent only 2.16-percent of the passenger traffic at FLL. They rank 11th in market share at FLL, behind Spirit, Southwest, JetBlue, Delta, US Airways, American, Continental, AirTran, Northwest, and Air Canada.
FLL airport officials also say that all destinations that United currently serves out of FLL are also served by other carriers.
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