Fliers in for pain as airlines pack it in

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2008 | by Marilyn Adams, Barbara De Lollis and Barbara Hansen

The USA's air-travel map is shrinking fast, dropping scores of routes and flights that airlines simply can't afford anymore in a world of $130-a-barrel oil.

A USA TODAY analysis of fall airline schedules shows the nation's most popular vacation destinations will be among the biggest air-service losers. Many flights to Honolulu, Orlando, Las Vegas and other favorite vacation venues have vanished or will soon because cheap tickets bought by tourists don't cover the cost of getting there.

Travelers who fly among the USA's biggest business airports -- such as New York LaGuardia, Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth -- will probably see the fewest changes, because there's ample demand and fares are high.

But large cities in the shadow of larger airline...