Southwest Airlines — which arrived at Akron-Canton Airport amid much fanfare in 2014 — is leaving the airport in June.
The airline had already severely pulled back its service last April when it eliminated three nonstop destinations to Tampa, Orlando and Las Vegas and kept three daily flights to Atlanta, where passengers could connect to other Southwest cities.
But airport officials on Wednesday learned that Southwest would be leaving on June 2. Its new air schedule is set to release on Thursday.
Airport President and Chief Executive Officer Rick McQueen said in an interview that he was surprised, but not shocked by the news.
“They made two separate cuts on us in the last year. This is something we had to anticipate could be a potential possibility. Even though they have made this decision, we’re going to continue to work with them to see if we can get them back in the future,” he said.
Since May, Southwest planes to Atlanta were 84 percent full on average. McQueen said it’s disappointing that despite strong community support, the airline still cut service.
Still, McQueen said the airport will be fine.
“This has been a heck of a year. We’ve had some highs and some lows as we’ve gone through it,” he said.
While Southwest eliminated destinations in April, low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines arrived in November, serving four Florida destinations: Orlando International Airport, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers. On April 27, the airline will begin daily service to Myrtle Beach, S.C., (seasonally) and year-round service to Las Vegas. At that time, Tampa and Fort Myers will end for the season.
McQueen said the available seats overall — even with Southwest’s departure — will be pretty close to previous years since Spirit has added so many seats.
In a statement, McQueen also said “while this is disappointing news, the reduction will not limit access to this key market, as Delta continues to offer customers nonstop, daily flights from CAK to Atlanta and beyond.”
“All other airlines remain strong partners at CAK, offering customers great fares, exceptional service and easy connections.
“We will continue to position the airport with affordable costs, exceptional customer service, and award-winning marketing support to increase capacity for our community.”
McQueen said the airport has proven the community can fill airplanes.
“We’ll be patient and we’ll be fine. It’s just always disappointing to lose any service,” he said.
Airport Director of Marketing Lisa Davala Dalpiaz said Southwest officials indicated they would not be releasing any statements until Thursday.
Dalpiaz said this will leave the airport with four carriers — American, Delta, Spirit and United — with nonstop service to 13 destinations. All four airlines connect internationally.
Dayton also cut
Also Wednesday, Southwest announced plans to end service at Dayton International Airport on June 3 and begin service out of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport the following day.
Southwest spokesman Dan Landson told the Dayton Daily News that leaving cities is “never an easy decision,” but that the carrier needed to go where it is needed most.
Dayton officials say the announcement reflects a growing trend of airlines concentrating service in larger hub markets.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ. See all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty.