American Airlines to eliminate RDU hub

American Airlines is taking a one-way flight away from Durham.

The airline announced Tuesday that it will eliminate its hub at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport due to increased competition and unprofitable flights. Starting June 15, American will provide only seven flights out of RDU each day.

Midway Airlines, a Chicago-based company, will begin service from RDU by March 2, and will gradually expand to make up for the loss of American flights.

American has been planning to dismantle its hub since the fall of 1993, when the company began evaluating the revenues it generated at the RDU hub, said Tim Smith, a spokesperson for American. "We wanted to weed out unprofitable flights and, in the process, make the hub more profitable," Smith said.

Increased competition from other airlines with southeastern hubs have hurt American's business. Competitors' hubs in Charlotte, Atlanta and Greensboro reduced American's traffic from RDU.

This competition has pushed East Coast fares to among the lowest in the nation, Smith said. American could not afford to offer fares low enough to draw customers from competing airlines with other southeastern hubs, he said.

"Hubs have not only local traffic, but travelers from other cities stopping to make a connection," Smith said. "What we saw [at RDU] was that the connecting traffic was dwindling. The Triangle area has provided a larger and larger percentage of the passengers coming in and out of the hub."

Continental Airlines' gradual service increases at the Greensboro airport also dealt major blows to American. Continental first increased its daily service out of Greensboro from three flights to 19 in October 1993, said Katherine Birdsong, marketing manager at Continental. Continental now offers 74 daily flights from Greensboro, and will increase this number to 100 on March 1, when Greensboro will be designated an official Continental hub.

"This is a win-win situation for the community and the airlines," Smith said. "Midway will continue service much like American's, and American will have a source of revenue for the gates [at RDU]."

Midway has also announced plans to allow customers to earn and receive frequent-flier mileage under American's AAdvantage program.

Nonetheless, the Triangle area will feel the pinch of American's move in May when the company begins to eliminate about 500 of its 870 employees at RDU.

"One of my best friends is out of a job," said Wendy Earle, a first-year Divinity student.

American officials say they will attempt to find positions elsewhere in the company for the affected employees. Some local workers may also find work with Midway, which plans to supplement a staff of nearly 300 people being transferred from Chicago with local workers.

Many University students planning to fly out of RDU will also be affected by the change in service.

Trinity junior Korland Simmons said he was very satisfied with American's service. "It's usually how I get home," he said, adding that he is disappointed that he no longer will have access to a nonstop flight to Little Rock, Ark.

Others said they noticed that American has been struggling. "The last time I flew American [to Orlando], the plane was three-quarters empty, and that was the Sunday before Christmas," said Trinity freshman Adrian Sisser.

Others chose not to use American because of the cost, even if competing airlines' flights were less convenient.

"I usually fly USAir," said Trinity freshman Lino Marrero, who flies to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. to get home. "It stops in Charlotte and Atlanta, but that's still cheaper than flying American nonstop."

When the downsizing is complete, American will offer flights only to its major hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago and Miami, in addition to a nonstop flight to London. Midway will begin offering flights to New York, Washington, Newark, Chicago, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach, Fla., on March 2. These are all cities previously served by American.