American Airlines and Delta cutting additional flights for April and May

In response to the ongoing business and financial losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, American Airlines and Delta have both announced that they will be cutting additional flights from their schedules.

American Airlines will suspend 60% of its capacity in April compared to last year and plans on suspending up to 80% of its capacity in May compared to the same period in 2019, according to an update posted on its website.

These suspensions are a substantial decrease from the 6,800 daily flights to over 365 locations in 61 countries that American is accustomed to providing regularly.

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“These changes are due to significantly decreased customer demand and government travel restrictions related to coronavirus,” the update explains.

“The reduced April schedule will be reflected on aa.com Sunday, March 29, and the reduced May schedule will be loaded Sunday, April 5.”

According to the update, the most notable alteration is the reduction in service to Hawaii. Due to the new 14-day quarantine orders for travellers flying to Hawaii, American has suspended its operations to Kona, Lihue, and Maui for all of April.

However, it will continue its one daily flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

American Airlines also continues to provide customers with additional flexibility for future travel purchases by extending its waiving of change fees for customers who purchase tickets through April 15.

“The offer is available for any of American’s published nonrefundable fares,” the site explains.

Similar to American Airlines, in an update published to its website on Monday, March 30, Delta Air Lines also announced that it would be altering their flight schedule.

The airline will be significantly limiting trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights as well as flights to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Canada.

“In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Delta is continuing to make adjustments to scheduled service systemwide based on CDC guidelines, government travel restrictions, and reduced customer demand,” the update states.

The updated schedule for Delta flights in April can be found on the airline’s website.

As well, for updated information regarding specific service suspensions and reductions, Delta has created a separate page providing further details.