The grounding of planes tied to two deadly air crashes is already having a trickle-down effect on travelers in Buffalo.

Southwest Airlines trimmed an average of about three flights a day from its daily schedule in Buffalo during July. Beyond that, Southwest is cutting flights throughout its network, leaving travelers with fewer connecting options when they fly out of Buffalo on the airline.

But Southwest isn't alone. Other airlines, especially United and American, also are being affected by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. The impact, however, is greatest on Southwest, which has more of the Boeing 737 Max jets than any other airline, and is the biggest carrier at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, carrying a quarter of all local passengers.

That means Buffalo travelers are left with fewer choices on connecting flights. That could cause some travelers to rearrange holiday plans and pay more for their flights.

And there's no guarantee things will change anytime soon.

In July alone, Southwest's reductions in Buffalo have been dramatic. It trimmed more than 100 flights from its schedule at the Buffalo airport compared to the same month last year, comprising 9,108 seats, according to a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority report. That's even with Southwest adding daily service to Denver on July 9.

"Buffalo is being impacted in the same way that the majority of our 101 cities are, as this Max situation drags on," said Brad Hawkins, a Southwest spokesperson.

Boeing said its planes should be ready to fly by November, but that would hinge on the Federal Aviation Administration approving the planes for a return to the air. Add in time for additional pilot training and Southwest doesn't expect to have the planes ready until at least January and has pulled any prospective seating from its schedule until then.

As Southwest reworks its October scheduling and looks ahead to January without the plane, it has been trimming its flight schedule in a way that it hopes will affect the fewest number of people, Hawkins said. It's not just canceling flights that were scheduled for Max jets. Instead, Southwest will move people to other flights or other routes. Or, it might keep everything the same, but put passengers on a different model plane.

As a result, some travelers will get new flight times, others will get new flight numbers, others will add a stop along the way or have to change planes.

Rather than canceling routes, the company has been focusing more on reducing their frequency. For example, the Buffalo airport will have five flights to and from Baltimore in October where it used to have six. Southwest will have two flights to Chicago, where it used to have three. Southwest also is down about one flight a day to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Las Vegas, according to Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority data.

Southwest has 34 Max planes in its fleet of 750, and planned to add another 44 of them this year, before Boeing stopped delivery of the safety-plagued aircraft.

It's not just Southwest that's affected.

United Airlines has 14 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets in its fleet. It has rerouted planes and will buy 19 used Boeing 737-700 aircraft to fill gaps in its capacity. American Airlines has 24 of the 737 Max planes and another 76 of them on order. It will hold off on retiring older planes until the new ones are deemed safe to fly.

Southwest told investors it would not bring in used or older jets to make up for the planes it has grounded, but said it might consider taking longer to retire jets currently in operation. Overall, the cutbacks will shrink Southwest's capacity by 2% this year. The company had planned to grow capacity by 5%.

With more travelers bidding for fewer seats, prices have increased, too.

Frontier Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier that entered the Buffalo airport in 2017, has helped pick up some of the slack.

Frontier added 87 flights in July, comprising a net gain of 2,552 seats compared to the same month in 2018.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered all Boeing 737 Max aircraft grounded in March, after two of the planes crashed within five months of each other. Nearly 350 people were killed.

Boeing is testing a change to the plane's automated flight control system software that was tied to the two crashes, Boeing said last week.

Southwest will contact any customer affected by cancellations or changes. Anyone with a canceled 737 Max flight can book an alternate flight without any additional fees or fare differences between the original cities.

Customers that booked with a third party instead of on Southwest.com can call 1-800-435-9792 for help.

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The biggest airlines at BNIA by number of passengers

Southwest 25%

Delta 24%

JetBlue 16%

American 15%

United 14%

Frontier 6%

Source: NFTA

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