American Airlines criticizes premature leak of route cuts

Scott Sonner

Monday, April 10, 2000 | 4:37 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - American Airlines confirmed the bad news Monday for passengers looking to fly in and out of Nevada after July 2 and criticized those who leaked the announcement "prematurely" over the weekend.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., announced on Friday that American intends to eliminate more than two dozen routes affecting Nevada - 12 flights to Las Vegas McCarran and 17 flights to Reno-Tahoe international airports.

The move is part of a larger effort to strengthen the airline's West Coast network, with emphasis on service to Los Angeles and San Jose, the company said Monday in a statement from headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.

The route reductions are "principally at Reno and Las Vegas, where passenger loads have been disappointing," the statement said.

As of July, American no longer will provide service between Reno and Portland, Reno and Seattle, Reno and San Diego, and Reno and Las Vegas.

American, which purchased Reno Air 16 months ago, has been the second-leading carrier in Nevada behind Southwest Airlines. Gibbons and local leaders fear the move will result in higher ticket prices and harm Nevada's tourism industry.

In announcing the reductions, American said Monday it "deeply regrets that word of the changes was reported prematurely over the weekend.

"The basic elements of the plan were shared in confidential conversations, but the final schedule was still being refined and the airline never intended for the information to be made public before it could be shared with employees and key community leaders," the company's statement said.

"American apologized to anyone who was offended by the news leaks."

Gibbons had been notified of the decision by airline officials, his aide Robert Uithoven said. The route cancelations made public Monday were the same as the list aides to Gibbons provided to The Associated Press and other news outlets on Friday.

"The congressman was never told any of this information was confidential," Uithoven said Monday.

Gibbons is scheduled to meet with American Airlines executives on Thursday. He's trying to gather support among local airport officials to try to persuade American to maintain additional Nevada routes.

American said it will continue to serve Reno and Las Vegas with daily service to Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as to Los Angeles and San Jose.

American's reservations office in Las Vegas also will remain in full operation to help handle the increased call volume that will result from the overall West Coast expansion, the airline said.