United to End Service From S.F. to Ontario

United Airlines will eliminate all five of its daily flights from Ontario International Airport to San Francisco at the end of the month, a significant blow to the regional airport, which has been striving to expand service.

The cutback in the wake of the East Coast terrorist attacks comes one day after United Airlines’ parent company, UAL Corp., said it would eliminate its United Shuttle subsidiary but continue flying many of the same routes under the United brand name.

United’s reduced flight offerings were announced two days after JetBlue said it is eliminating one of two daily flights to New York City. United added Thursday that it is eliminating two other routes nationally--from Los Angeles to Medford, Ore., and from Los Angeles to Reno.

The reduced service may be felt most seriously at the Ontario airport, which has been seeking for years to add flights.

“It will hurt. It is not good news,” said Ty Stroh, general manager of the Ontario Convention Center. “It will be a lot less convenient for people doing business in the Inland Valley.”

Travelers from Ontario will still be able to reach the Bay Area on other carriers--including regular Southwest Airlines flights to Oakland International Airport. Southwest offers 11 daily flights from Ontario to Oakland, but it discontinued service to San Francisco earlier this year because of routine delays there.

Ontario airport manager Jens Rivera said it is disappointing to lose flights. But he said the downturn in the economy and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks made the changes understandable.

“This is a great area, and we have room to grow,” Rivera said. “We have lost flights before. We will gain them back and steadily grow.”