Airlines Cut International Flights in Response to the Pandemic
Air France
In a statement on its website, Air France said it “plans to continue operations to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, San Francisco and Washington.” The airline said it is working with its partners in the SkyTeam alliance (KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic) on implementing a plan to continue service to and from the United States beyond March 28.
Air Canada
Air Canada has not reduced flights between Canada and the United States. It operates 20 flights per day between Toronto and New York. The Star Alliance carrier has reduced service between Toronto, Montreal and seasonal destinations in Europe.
Lufthansa
The airline will continue to operate service to Chicago, Newark and Washington Dulles — major hubs for its code-share partner, United Airlines. Austrian Airlines, part of the Lufthansa Group that also includes SWISS, announced it would temporarily stop flying entirely, as of Wednesday.
British Airways
British Airways is a key partner to American Airlines in its trans-Atlantic routes as part of the Oneworld alliance. So far British Airways has not announced service reductions on its flagship routes between New York and London. British Airways’s London hub is a major connecting point for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Norwegian Airlines
The low-cost carrier, already struggling financially, announced today it would stop all trans-Atlantic flights effective March 25 and would only fly a limited short-haul schedule in Scandinavia.
S.A.S.
The Scandinavian carrier said in a news release that it would continue to operate between Copenhagen, Stockholm and Newark and Copenhagen to Chicago, as well as its domestic routes and flights to and from Europe.
What about flights to other destinations?
A recent trend for airlines has been to fly direct between cities, skipping connections through hubs. Cities that previously were never directly connected — such as London and Austin, Texas — have benefited from nonstop service from the likes of British Airways. However, direct flights from smaller centers to major international hubs will be the first cut, regardless of the airline.
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