America West to Cut Flights From Palmdale

Citing “depressingly low” passenger levels, America West Airlines announced Wednesday it will eliminate all but one of its flights out of Palmdale Regional Airport on June 1, a setback for the fledgling facility. The airline, one of two at Palmdale airport, said its four daily flights to Las Vegas will be canceled and replaced with a single daily flight to Phoenix, its corporate base.

America West ended a five-year absence of service at the airport when it began flights there Jan. 2, 1990. But in the past year, the airline lost more than $2 million and flights were generally about one-third full, officials said.

The announcement is a blow to efforts to develop the Palmdale terminal as a regional alternative to Los Angeles International or Burbank airports.