Travellers will no longer be able to fly directly to Chicago from the London International Airport.
United Airlines announced Tuesday that it will be dropping its London to Chicago service effective June 30.
In a written statement, United says “In every market we serve, we continually review demand for service. We had to make the difficult decision to end our service between Chicago and London because the route was not meeting our expectations and is no longer sustainable.”
President of the London International Airport Mike Seabrook says the loss of the daily direct flight hurts. He blames the declining value of the Canadian dollar for United's decision.
"United has been in London with their Chicago service since late 2008 and it was a profitable route for them," says Seabrook. "In the last 14-16 months with the decline of the Canadian dollar it has really squeezed their margin on this route and it got to the point where it was unprofitable for them or it didn't give them the rate of return they were looking for."
The London-Chicago flight was the last route the carrier operated in the city after scrapping its London to Newark flight last February. Seabrook says the latest service cut wasn't totally unexpected.
"London is the 17th market in Canada that United has withdrawn service from in the last year and a half. It is symptom of a much bigger problem," says Seabrook. "Aviation in Canada is too expensive when it is compared to the U.S. The U.S. subsidizes aviation and that's why people can get lower fares in Detroit and people drive to Detroit airport for U.S. bound flights.
Seabrook is optimistic the airport's other two airlines, Air Canada and WestJet, will be able to accommodate the passengers left behind by United.
"Both of those airlines have added a combined 15% more capacity in London this year versus 2015," says Seabrook. "There are market factors at play here and we are hopeful we will still be able to address the need in the marketplace but with a different carrier."
