Continental Cuts Mexico Capacity Amid Flu Outbreak
Continental Airlines said on Friday it had temporarily reduced service to Mexico, citing lower demand as the deadly strain of flu spreads.
In a statement, the carrier said it would cut its capacity to Mexico by about 50 percent. Mexico has reported 176 deaths from the new strain of Influenza A (H1N1) -- also called swine flu. The changes are effective Monday.
Continental added that it would reduce flight departures by about 40 percent. The carrier said the reductions amount to about 2 percent of its system-wide capacity for May, compared with its original schedule.
Continental is the first major US carrier to curb service to Mexico amid the spread of swine flu, which has reached at least 13 countries including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.
The World Health Organization says experts do not yet know enough about the new flu strain to say how deadly it is and how long any potential pandemic may last.
Other US airlines have not cut service. American Airlines and US Airways said they were closely watching the situation. But some global carriers have already reduced links.
Air Canada said it was temporarily suspending operations to popular resorts such as Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, and Spain's Air Europa said it would reduce charter flights.
DOCTORS ON PLANES
Lufthansa announced contingency plans to cut flights and drop routes amid the crisis, and said it would place doctors on its planes to Mexico in hopes of detecting any flu infections early.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned earlier this week that the flu outbreak would compound financial problems for airlines, which are struggling as the global recession depresses travel demand.
Continental, which earlier this week had noted a significant drop in travel to Mexico, said it was using smaller aircraft on flights to Mexico or reducing the frequency of flights to certain cities. Prior to these reductions, Continental said it operated an average of 450 weekly flights to the country.
"We were already experiencing soft market conditions due to the economy, and now our Mexico routes in particular have extra weakness," Continental CEO Larry Kellner said in a statement.
