US airlines look to restrict competitors

Unable to fly through Russian airspace because of the war in Ukraine, US airlines are stepping up a lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill and at the White House to address what they say is a growing problem.

They are losing business to foreign competitors who can take passengers between the United States and Asia faster and more cheaply, according to The New York Times.

Effectively banned from the polar routes that save time and fuel between the United States and an array of destinations on the other side of the world, US carriers say they are being forced into an aeronautical version of Twister to get passengers where they want to go without taking undue risks.

They have altered trans-Pacific flight plans to ensure they would have somewhere to land in an emergency, reduced passenger and cargo loads to hold down costs as they fly longer distances, and put on hold more than a dozen planned new routes to Mumbai, Tokyo, Seoul and other cities.

On its route from New Delhi to New York City, American Airlines has been forced to stop flights in Bangor, Maine — an hour and a half short of the mark — on 19 occasions, a person familiar with the recent history said.

Those stops, which were typically caused by unfavorable winds or weather that depleted the jet fuel supply and ran out the flight crew’s duty hours, delayed passengers and forced a swap-out of 14 pilots and flight attendants.

Those flights were already operating with dozens of the seats deliberately left unfilled, the person added, because less weight on board was required to make the fuel last as long as possible.