Delta cuts 13% of its LAX flights

Delta Air Lines, struggling with high fuel costs, plans to slash about 13% of its flights at Los Angeles International Airport, including nonstop service to Boston, Hartford, Conn., and Columbus, Ohio.

The latest cuts are the deepest so far at LAX, which had until now managed to escape the brunt of an industry-wide move to ground flights as a way to cope with escalating fuel prices. Delta is the fourth largest carrier at the airport.

With the cutbacks, passengers can expect higher fares and fewer travel options, particularly to Mexico and Latin America. In all, Delta plans to end service on nine routes departing from LAX, including several cities in Mexico, starting mid-August.

For Delta, the cutbacks effectively end the Atlanta-based carrier’s plans to expand at LAX and make the largest airport in Southern California one of its major hubs. Other cities that Delta has already cut this year from its LAX schedule include Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Ixtapa, Mexico; and Vancouver, Canada. The airline is also canceling plans to launch a nonstop service to Washington, D.C.’s, Dulles International Airport from LAX.

Though the airline has not publicly disclosed the route cuts, the changes were recently posted on a national flight schedule system.