Reno airport braces for more cuts

— -- Continental Airlines' announcement that it is ending service to Reno is probably not the last cutback that local air passengers will see this summer, airport officials said Friday.

Continental flew one round-trip flight between Houston and Reno-Tahoe International Airport, with a second flight added during peak tourism months. The flights will stop Sept. 3, ending 20 years of Continental service to Reno.

With the Houston flights and other announced cuts, Reno-Tahoe has lost 10 round-trip flights this year.

Airlines across the country are slashing service because of the soaring price of crude oil, trading Friday at $134.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Southwest, which has about 50% of the market share at Reno-Tahoe, cut some flights. ExpressJet cut Reno service to Spokane, Wash., and Tucson Reno-Tahoe also lost one arrival and departure when Aloha Airlines filed for bankruptcy and ended passenger service.

Still looming are possible cutbacks by United Airlines. Last week United, the No. 2 carrier at Reno-Tahoe with 12.5% of its flights, said it's cutting up to 1,100 jobs, removing 70 airplanes from its fleet and slashing domestic capacity as it tries to cope with spiraling fuel prices.

On Friday, however, Reno-Tahoe officials said they had not yet been notified if United will cut its service to Reno.

"We are bound to see some more cuts here in Reno," said Brian Kulpin, public affairs manager at Reno-Tahoe. "It is just the state of the industry today, all across the country."

More bad news for travelers came this week as United and US Airways announced that they will follow the lead of American Airlines and charge $15 each way for single bag check-ins.

Although Continental only has 2.5% of the market share at Reno-Tahoe, the loss was greeted with dismay. The flights to Houston — a great connection point to other locations — were very popular, Kulpin said.

The 155-seat Boeing 737s that Continental flew into Reno-Tahoe usually were at more than 80% capacity, Kulpin said.