American Airlines cuts another five nonstop routes from Austin-Bergstrom

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The rounds of cuts continue for American Airlines at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The airline is cutting five more nonstop routes from AUS in October, adding to the more than 20 route cuts announced since November.

Year-round service to Las Vegas, New Orleans and Orlando will end, as well as seasonal service to Palm Springs, California, and Reno, Nevada.

"As part of the continuous evaluation of our network, American will reduce service from Austin (AUS) starting in October," an airline spokesperson told KXAN in a statement. "American will continue to offer customers access to our comprehensive global network of more than 350 destinations with one-stop connections."

American is reaching out to impacted customers, the spokesperson said. The airline also plans to increase seat capacity this winter from Austin to several of its hubs.

The cancellations mean no airline will fly nonstop between Austin and both Palm Springs and Reno. New Orleans is served by Southwest Airlines, while Delta Air Lines, Southwest and Spirit Airlines all fly nonstop between AUS and Orlando. The Las Vegas route is served by Allegiant Air, Delta, Frontier Airlines, Southwest and Spirit.

American has now canceled 27 nonstop routes from AUS since November, including international destinations such as Montego Bay, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Liberia, Costa Rica.

Earlier this month, the airline announced it would end nonstop service between AUS and Indianapolis, effective Aug. 6.

American flew more than 1.8 million passengers in and out of Austin in the first five months of this year, down from more than 2.1 million passengers in the same timeframe last year. So far in 2024, American accounts for about 21% of passenger traffic at AUS, making it the second-largest airline at the airport behind Southwest. The airline's passenger share has decreased from 26% in 2022.

In 2022 and 2023, American launched 14 new nonstop routes from AUS, including the service to Palm Springs. Eleven of those 14 routes have since been canceled.

Allegiant is also cutting several routes from Austin. The schedule change comes as the airline plans to end base operations at the airport in January.