American postpones second Stansted-JFK flight

American Airlines had planned to double flight frequency on its recently launched London Stansted to New York JFK service from April 8, but this second daily service has now been postponed until August 1. A spokesperson for American Airlines said: “We’ve been experiencing an unusually high number of pilots who are retiring early, so we’ve had to carry out some adjustments to our schedules.” American denies that the decision has anything to do with the economic slowdown now being seen on both sides of the Atlantic. The AA spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to Stansted. Work is expected to begin shortly on an American Airlines business lounge at the airport, which is due for completion summer 2008. This would replace the temporary facility which has been in use since the New York service commenced on October 29.” Timings for the second flight, with its new start-date of August 1 from JFK and August 2 from Stansted, are as follows: AA125 departing Stansted at 1800 and arriving in JFK at 2055. AA128 departing JFK at 2145 and arriving in Stansted the following morning at 0955. For more information visit americanairlines.co.uk. Report by Alex McWhirter