Beginning June 1, United Airlines will no longer serve Springfield, Mark Hanna, executive director of Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, told Illinois Times Saturday.
“We’re very disappointed to learn that United, our hometown airline, has decided to discontinue service to the Illinois state capital,” he said. “We understand the decision was really based on a lack of current demand, overall market conditions and a severe nationwide pilot shortage.”
United has one daily flight between Springfield and O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
The United announcement comes two months after American Airlines announced that it would discontinue its daily flight between Springfield and Dallas-Fort Worth, also on June 1.
American Airlines will begin offering two flights daily to O’Hare on that date.
United’s decision will leave Springfield served by only two airline routes: American’s flight to and from O’Hare and Allegiant Airlines’ less frequent flights to and from Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers, Florida.
United Airlines is headquartered in Chicago and its main hub is at O’Hare. The airline’s Springfield connection proved convenient for travelers wishing to take advantage of United’s many destinations while remaining on the same airline.
“Air service is very emotional for us as a community,” Hanna said. “But when it comes to the providers, they need to meet their internal (financial) returns and their targets.
“And basically, it’s a very mobile resource. They can fly that aircraft to another market and make more money. So, we don’t just compete against Champaign, Bloomington, Peoria or St. Louis. We’re competing against Portland, Oregon; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Amarillo, Texas; Sacramento, California. We compete with every community — east, west, north, south — for aircraft time.”
Most of the people working for United in Springfield held part-time positions, he said, so the number of jobs lost will be minimal.
“The possibility of (United) coming back, I think, is very good in the future,” Hanna said. “But this situation is going to get worse. And there are many people in airports, airlines and aviation across the country who feel the same. This pilot situation is real. It’s very severe, and it’s not going to get better anytime soon.”
Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder could not be reached immediately for comment.
Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at sreeder@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in Capital competition.
I am so disappointed with the cut of United. How can we have a healthy business climate without the seamless service at least one airline with a Chicago hub? As retirees who travel and no longer like commuting to OHare and parking this is a blow as well. With our families who live in other parts of US this feels unsettling as our safety net is shrinking if our kids need to get to us quickly. Maybe we will have to move for the final phase of retirement to be near a real airport. The ridiculous pretentious renovation of Capital Airport is even more of a sham. Apparently somebodys lobbying based on built it and they will come took the resources that a tough economic negotiator could have used to change the decision. We now had to change our flight to UK in June to go in and out of Decatur. In Decatur they still open every suitcase and go through it for a security screening. Their security screening for people is also extremely antiquated but they have the service. Crazy!
This decision will affect all Star Alliance partners of UA. Abraham Lincoln is crying above