Three Orlando International Airport airlines plan to drop flights during the next several months, adjusting to what all three said was weak demand on a limited number of routes.
The carriers, JetBlue Airways, Delta Connection and American Eagle, all blamed poor demand on the routes for their decisions.
JetBlue will drop its newly launched daily service to Burbank, Calif., on Nov. 13.
The company said bookings were weaker than expected, and that rising fuel costs were a factor in the cancellations.
"Demand for this route is not quite enough to keep it in the JetBlue network," JetBlue spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said. "And while this nonstop service from Orlando to the West Coast didn't work out, we will continue evaluating opportunities for our Orlando customers."
The Burbank route was JetBlue's first attempt to link Orlando with a city in the western United States. Travelers flying JetBlue can still fly to Southern California through connecting flights.
The low-cost carrier serves five cities in the Northeast from Orlando, as well as two airports in Puerto Rico.
Delta Connection, a Delta Air Lines regional carrier, will discontinue flights to Tulsa, Okla., and Kansas City, Mo., today.
It will cease a daily flight to Oklahoma City next month.
"Those markets are very much seasonal markets," Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said. "Demand is stronger in the spring and summer than in the fall and winter. We are changing our fall schedule to better adapt to passenger demand."
Delta had a single daily flight to each of the cities, using a 50-seat regional jet. Laughlin said Orlando travelers can connect to the cities through Delta hubs in Atlanta and Cincinnati.
American Eagle, an American Airlines subsidiary, will end service to Nassau, Bahamas, in September.
The airline began the service in 1997.
Company spokesman Dave Jackson said the route wasn't profitable.
"Most people who want to fly to Orlando and most people who want to fly to Nassau make each place their final destination," Jackson said. "In order to make the route work, you need to have people wanting to make connections and that wasn't happening."
Jackson also said the rising cost of jet fuel contributed to the decision.
Though the combined decisions represent a loss of flights for Central Florida, another airline on Monday announced it would add service to Belfast, Northern Ireland, from Orlando Sanford International Airport.
Flyglobespan said it plans to begin weekly service to Belfast in November with fares starting at $249 each way.
Copyright: The Orlando Sentinel -- 8/02/06
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