Despite Southwest Airlines' announcement last week of flight cuts at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, local experts believe students' travel plans will not be significantly hindered.
Southwest Airlines will cut three weekend flights from Lubbock beginning this winter, said James Loomis, director of aviation at the airport.
With the discontinuation of the three flights - one to Austin on Saturday, another to Austin on Sunday and the other to El Paso on Saturday - comes the addition of a Dallas flight, bringing the total number of dropped flights to two.
The flight changes will take effect Jan. 11, 2009, Loomis said, and are not the result of economic downturns in Lubbock, but routine flight changes that airlines often make to optimize profits.
"I don't think you're going to see an effect, to be honest with you," he said. "These were low-performing flights for Southwest, they tell us. In all honesty, we're lucky we haven't lost more. There are some cities that have lost complete service by an airline."
Olga Romero, a spokesperson for Southwest, said airline records do not show the dropped flights.
"That's because it's already been posted on the schedule and once it's posted it doesn't show any changes," Loomis said. "It was confusing to me initially too, and we didn't argue about it."
Romero said business in Lubbock is profitable for Southwest Airlines.
The Southwest flight cuts came two months after American Airlines cancelled one flight from the Hub City that will go into effect Oct. 1.
American Airlines plans to reduce its presence of regional jets in Lubbock, opting instead for smaller-capacity turboprop planes.
"Smaller cities like Lubbock that have good air service often times are spoiled, if you will, with the good service," Loomis said, "so when something like this happens it's kind of a shock. The shock factor really is not there. It's really a bottom-line kind of deal for the airlines. You know, they are for-profit organizations and they have to look at their bottom line."
The financial fallout of the dropped flights for the airport - which he called "nothing but a specialized piece of real estate" - with a loss of $300 per flight, will be nominal.
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