United Airlines under fire for packed flights amid coronavirus pandemic
United pledged to block off middle seats on flights; travel expert Laura Begley Bloom reacts.
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American Airlines is running 29-mile flights in Colorado to fulfill its obligations under the coronavirus relief package passed in March, according to a Monday report.
The 29-mile flight takes passengers from Vail to Aspen in just 35 minutes. Another short flight now being offered by the Airline is from Aspen to Telluride, which takes about 40 minutes.
American Airlines Boeing 777 at Heathrow airport in London.
The flights are some of the shortest trips being offered by American since the 1990s, the Dallas Morning News reported.
To qualify for the $50 billion worth of stimulus loans from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, airlines must maintain service to every destination they offered before the pandemic. But with travel demand reduced to nearly zero during a nationwide lockdown, American needed to create new routes to make up for the loss in revenue.
OVERSIGHT COMMISSION FINDS CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUNDS HAVE NOT BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO AIRLINES
By offering flights to shorter routes, airlines can service several destinations on a circular route. Before the pandemic, full flights from major destination hubs like DFW International Airport to niche destinations were rare.
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An American spokesperson told Fox News the airline will stop flying the circular routes beginning June 1.
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