United Airlines stops flying to two Florida cities

United Airlines will no longer offer service to Ft. Lauderdale or West Palm Beach, Florida after September 2.

The second-largest airline in the U.S. is consolidating its operations in south Florida at Miami International Airport, where it will be able to take advantage of the high volume in international connecting traffic, a spokesman for the airlines said this week. United is known for its “fly the friendly skies” slogan, and has maintained a small presence at airports in both Broward and Palm Beach counties for many years.

“The record-high fuel prices and softer U.S. economy is creating an urgent need for us to eliminate our least-profitable markets from our schedules,” said spokesman Jeff Kovick.

Passengers with reservations for flights after September 2 will be contacted by email or phone so they can make alternate arrangements. Customers will have the option of rebooking on a United flight from Miami, or flying on another airline. Refunds will also be available.

United’s cuts of four daily flights at the Ft. Lauderdale airport and one daily flight at West Palm Beach amount to only three percent of the traffic at those facilities.

Large-network airlines such as United have found it difficult to continue operating in popular tourist areas such as south Florida, where discount carrier such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue undercut their fares.

“All major carriers have indicated that they’re going to cut back on capacity. Those are the old, legacy carriers,” commented the aviation director for the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Kent George.

Employees at United working at the Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach airports are eligible for job transfers elsewhere, but the 66 total workers will be furloughed if they’re not able to agree to a transfer, Kovick reported.

United.com