Jacksonville International Airport will lose its farthest-reaching nonstop flight Dec. 1 as Delta Air Lines halts direct service to Los Angeles.
The decision comes despite the airline posting strong systemwide passenger numbers in October.
Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the Jacksonville-to-Los Angeles flights did not follow that trend.
"We would have loved to continue serving the route, but it was not living up to our expectations," she said. She added the airline's hub in Atlanta will continue serving as a connecting point for travelers flying between the First Coast and the West Coast.
Delta began the five-hour flights in December 2006, offering a departure from Jacksonville in the morning and a red-eye flight back from LAX.
Before then, the farthest westward flight from Jacksonville landed in Dallas. Local tourism officials lauded the Los Angeles flights for their potential to boost cross-country travel.
Airport authority spokesman Michael Stewart said Tuesday he was unaware of Delta's plans.
"It's a business call by the airlines," he said. "It would be surprising, though, because their numbers looked like they were doing well."
Delta's latest passenger statistics showed flights systemwide were taking off nearly 80 percent full on average throughout October. The percentage signified a personal record for the company, which also reported increases in overall traffic and a fewer canceled flights.
The airline boarded 9.2 million passengers systemwide for the month.
Elliott said she did not have figures available to show exactly how many passengers were boarding the Jacksonville to Los Angeles flights but said consumer interest appeared to be dwindling to a point the airline would not profit from the route.
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