Southwest Airlines will eliminate three flights at Denver International Airport as part of a cutback that includes nearly 200 flights nationwide.
The high cost of fuel, a soft economy and slower traffic during the winter months were the main factors behind the cuts, Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said.
Dallas-based Southwest is relatively late in its efforts to cut capacity and isn’t cutting nearly as deeply as other airlines such as United Airlines, American Airlines and Denver-based Frontier Airlines. Southwest has largely been insulated from industry troubles because of its fuel hedges.
The carrier will trim 196 flights nationwide starting Jan. 11, nearly 6 percent of its daily schedule of almost 3,400 flights. It is adding only six new flights next year.
DIA will lose one daily flight each to Baltimore, Chicago Midway and Las Vegas. Mainz said the flights may be restored later, pending results the airline sees through March.
“It’s a normal kind of reorientation of flights,” said Bob McAdoo, an analyst with Avondale Partners LLC.
Capitalizing on its rapid growth in Denver, Southwest had planned to add 25 flights to its Denver schedule by Nov. 2, DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon said. The addition would have brought Southwest’s Denver presence to 115 daily flights to 32 cities. It will now have 112.
Despite the cuts, Southwest said it remains bullish on the Denver market.
“It’s our fastest-growing city ever,” Mainz said. “The magnitude (of losing three flights) will be very minimal.”
Mainz said he doesn’t expect cuts to result in any layoffs.
Alex McCarthy: 303-954-1381 or amccarthy@denverpost.com
112 Southwest’s planned number of daily Denver flights by Nov. 2, down from 115
Flights lost
•Baltimore
•Chicago Midway
•Las Vegas
