Jan. 6—American Airlines is flying again to Del Rio after a three-month hiatus, but service to the South Texas border city could end again as soon as federal stimulus money runs out at the end of March.
Resuming service to about a dozen small communities, including Del Rio — located 153 miles southwest of San Antonio — is one of the conditions American must meet to collect a portion of the $15 billion relief package that Congress approved last month for the airline industry.
The first American plane will land in Del Rio on Wednesday.
Once the new stimulus money runs out March 31, American is unlikely to continue to fly to Del Rio, aviation consultant Michael Boyd said. He questioned whether Del Rio, with a population of 36,000, has enough passengers to justify air service.
"As soon as they can pull it, they will pull it," he said.
American Airlines spokeswoman Stacy Day didn't directly address whether the carrier will continue to serve Del Rio after March.
"We're always evaluating our network based on supply and demand," she said in a statement.
American stopped flying to Del Rio in early October, several days after its obligation to serve the city expired under the CARES Act. The Fort Worth-based airline received more than $4 billion in government loans in the first round of funding to help the struggling airline during the passenger downturn spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Del Rio International Airport manager Juan Onofre is optimistic that the service will extend beyond March. He said the regional jet service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport will help American fill other planes at its largest connecting hub.
"It will be a slow start," he said of the air service. "But I believe it is here to stay."
American is offering one flight a day on a 44-seat regional jet run by American subsidiary Envoy Air. Before the pandemic, the carrier flew out of Del Rio twice a day.
Boyd said the airline already concluded Del Rio and the other small cities it exited in October didn't have profit potential.
"Because they are accepting money under this relief act, they have to go to places like New Haven, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Del Rio," he said. "But the markets are not any more viable than they were three months ago."
In September, an American spokeswoman said the Del Rio route was among the poorest performing in the airline's route network.
Del Rio mayor Bruno "Ralphy" Lozano said the air service contributed to the economic health of his city, enticing manufacturers to Del Rio and Acuña on the Mexican side of the border.
The airport also serves relatives who come to visit personnel at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio and U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed in the area.
Lozano has personal reasons for wanting flights to and from Del Rio. In addition to his city duties, he is a full-time Delta flight attendant. He used to begin his journey to his Boston crew base on a flight from Del Rio. Since October, he's had to drive two and a half hours to San Antonio International Airport to begin his commute.
"It's a long drive," Lozano said.
He isn't the only resident who would prefer not to drive that far.
Kristen Bentz, the guest services manager at the Ramada by Wyndham Del Rio hotel, wants to visit her son, a veterinary student in Denver, later this year. She's hoping American remain in Del Rio beyond March so she won't have to drive to San Antonio, which she called "such a big hassle."
Del Rio has struggled to maintain air service over the years. Continental Airlines served the airport from 2005 to 2012 with connecting flights to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. After United Airlines acquired Continental in 2012, the carrier abandoned the route a year later.
A small commuter airline served the airport for six months in 2017.
Del Rio International got regular service again in 2018, but only after giving American a $2.9 million guarantee. The airline drew on the money anytime a Del Rio flight did not fill 80 percent of its seats.
The flights never exceeded an average monthly of 70 percent. The money is now gone.
Lozano said Del Rio has about $700,000 in money set aside for tourism marketing from the city's tax on hotel rooms. With regular air service at its airport, the city would use some of the funds to promote the flights, renting billboards or buying advertising air time in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
But he said tourism officials are reluctant to spend the money, given the possibility that American will withdraw after March. For now, Del Rio is relying on free Facebook and Instagram posts to advertise the air service — and to tout free parking, a rarity among airports.
randy.diamond
@express-news.net
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