PHL Bans Flights to New York, Harrisburg

Continental to pull out of airport


Officials at Philadelphia International Airport announced yesterday that they are grounding all departures to four airports, effectively severing air service to New York City and Harrisburg, in what they said was an effort to prioritize use of aviation fuel.

The affected airports are John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, and Harrisburg International Airport.

US Airways and Delta, the two affected airlines, protested that they had not been consulted in the decision, but promptly cancelled the flights into the indefinite future and began rebooking passengers.

Travel industry and energy sector analysts applauded the move, citing the skyrocketing cost of fuel, especially given the short length of the flights.

"PHL is trying to protect its international flights, which given recent waves of cancellations, are in danger of consolidation with routes into New York or Washington. One of the best ways they can do that is to safeguard the availability of jet fuel, which is cheaper in Philadelphia due to the presence of local refineries. Cutting these short-haul flights is a step that the airlines were about to take anyway, de facto. Annulling the flights entirely allows the airport to free up scarce runway and gate slots."

An airport spokesman said that airport officials are looking into extending the ban to other Mid-Atlantic airports, naming White Plains, Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY, and Baltimore/Washington International as possible candidates.

Gov. Ed Rendell gave cautious praise to the cancellations, and pledged that the commonwealth would continue to fund Philadelphia-Harrisburg Amtrak service, including the construction of a new station at Harrisburg Airport. He went on to suggest that Philadelphia and Harrisburg Airports coordinate route consolidation with the airlines to ensure that both cities retain adequate air service.

In a related development, Continental Airlines announced that it was halting its service from Philadelphia International Airport, and rerouting all Philadelphia passengers via 30th Street Station and Newark.

Continental served PHL nonstop from its hubs in Cleveland and Houston.

A Continental press release stated "Passengers to or from Philadelphia International Airport will be rerouted via Continental's Newark hub, or via other SkyTeam airlines. Connections at Newark will be made through Continental's code share partner Amtrak."

The national rail carrier is already carrying passengers in record numbers, but said it would handle the increase in Philadelphia-New York traffic, although some questioned where the seats would come from.

"Amtrak is already selling out between New York and Philadelphia in peak hours. Amtrak doesn't have the seats available to shoulder Continental, especially if they want to pick up market share from stranded US Airways passengers."

Other analysts weren't so quick to count Amtrak out.

"Since gasoline prices began to rise in late April, Amtrak's revenues have been going up, and they've been plowing as many of those extra dollars as they can spare into repairing their fleet and getting extra seats available for sale, especially on the Northeast Corridor, where they don't have to pay for diesel.

"They probably have enough slack to cover the air-rail market Harrisburg-Philadelphia and just enough for Philadelphia-New York, but Continental will be paying top dollar to fill those last seats with its passengers.

"The indubitable signal this sends, though, is that flying people short distances is no longer a profitable business."