American Airlines will depart Stewart; 17 years of service from airport set to end in early September

American Airlines, the first commercial carrier to serve Stewart International Airport when it began flying there in 1990, will end that service Sept. 4, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

"We're not achieving an acceptable return," said Andrea Huguely, a spokeswoman for American Eagle, the regional carrier that operated the two daily nonstops to American's hub at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. "We can make a better return in other markets."

It wasn't immediately clear what those other markets might be. But the airline has at least five new American Eagle routes beginning the following day.

When American began service at Stewart 17 years ago, it flew full-size jets on its six daily round trips, three each to Raleigh and Chicago.

In August 2002, the airline announced it was ending service with full-size jets in Albany and other upstate cities, replacing them with smaller regional jets operated by American Eagle.

American Eagle isn't planning any cutbacks or changes at any of the other area cities it serves at this time, Huguely said Thursday. The carrier currently oper ates three daily nonstops between Albany and Chicago.

The cutbacks come as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey seeks to develop Stewart into a fourth major airport serving the New York metropolitan area. Stewart has managed to attract several other carriers, including low-fare JetBlue and AirTran. It also has service from Delta Connection, US Airways Express and Northwest Airlink.

But American Eagle provided the only nonstop service to O'Hare.

Passengers holding tickets on Eagle flights for Sept. 5 or after have several alternatives, Huguely said. They can get a full refund, they can be rebooked to fly out of Stewart on another carrier, or they can fly out of another city offering American Airlines or Eagle service.

Alternative airports include Albany, White Plains, LaGuardia, Newark and Bradley.