Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines is removing another route from its network. The airline will end flights between Austin and Indianapolis beginning in August, as part of its “capacity growth plans” for this year.
The service is one of American’s few routes that operate beyond its traditional hub-and-spoke model. The news comes as the carrier is planning to remove similar non-hub service between Boston and Memphis later this year.
Ending August 5th
American has offered flights between Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Indianapolis International Airport (IND) since 2022, according to aviation data and analytics company Cirium. This month, the airline has operated the route once daily in each direction, but previously offered two daily frequencies. The flights are operated by American’s wholly-owned regional brand, Envoy Air, with its Embraer 175 aircraft under the American Eagle brand. The service will conclude on August 5th.
In a statement to Simple Flying earlier this week, the US legacy carrier confirmed that it will be removing the route.
“As part of our evaluation of our capacity growth plans for 2024, American will end service between Austin (AUS) and Indianapolis (IND). American will continue to offer service to more than 20 destinations nonstop from AUS. We have proactively reached out to impacted customers and offered alternate travel arrangements. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers’ travel journeys.”
What other carriers serve AUS-IND?
Ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air serves the route, but its flights operate twice-weekly. Southwest Airlines has multiple daily flights, offering the most seats between AUS and IND. With American ending service, the passenger share will just be left to Southwest, as Cirium data shows Allegiant will also pull the route next month as it plans to close its AUS crew base early next year.
Southwest, however, will significantly trim down its frequencies on the route in August compared to this month. The airline has a total of 66 flights scheduled between AUS and IND next month, down from 106 that will operate this month. All three aircraft types in the Dallas-based carrier’s fleet are deployed on the route – the Boeing 737-700, -800, and MAX 8.
Analyzing operations
American has been downsizing at AUS. Between November 2023 and April of this year, the oneworld Alliance airline has canceled over 21 nonstop routes from AUS, according to Austin local NBC affiliate KXAN. Throughout the first five months of the year, American carried more than 1.8 million passengers through AUS, which was down from more than 2.1 million travelers during the same period in 2023. The airline is behind Southwest as the second-largest carrier at AUS, accounting for 21% of passenger traffic.
As American analyzes its capacity growth for the remainder of the year, the carrier will make other route cuts. In September, flights between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Memphis International Airport (MEM) will also be snubbed. The route, which was also launched in 2022, was once described as “long-pursued” as COVID restrictions began to ease, but has likely since become unprofitable.