Southwest Airlines, U.S biggest domestic airline and the airline with more departures and arrivals in Las Vegas has announced that it will be reducing the amount of flights nationwide as part of a series of measures to deal with the rising fuel costs and dwindling profits. Southwest will join other airlines including US Air, Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant Air which also reduced the amount of flights to Sin City early this year.

In only a few weeks, the Las Vegas visitors and locals will see a cutback in the number of flights offered by the airline (190 nationwide and 12 in Las Vegas). Many passengers have already expressed a general concern towards the cuts and how they will change the way they travel.

For most travelers, Southwest reduction means fewer choices when they travel inside the U.S, however, a spokesperson for the Dallas-based Southwest Airlines said the cuts announced by the airline don't necessarily mean that the whole service provided to the 12 cities will be taken out completely, only partially reduced.

In a statement made to a TV news channel, the Southwest spokesperson restated that "These are seasonal changes. Southwest took a look at its entire schedule and tweaked our flights. Demand is typically lower in January and February following the holidays."

Travelers and Las Vegas visitors will possibly see the cut flights back on their schedule by March, but the situation will be evaluated during the following months. The biggest concern comes when you analyze the possible impact this could have over the city’s economy. Most of the Las Vegas hotels and other business depend on local and foreign tourism to survive, and since travelers are going to lose some options, the hotels and other businesses have no option but except for dropping the prices and reduce their profits.

Southwest is citing the high fuel costs as one of the principal reasons behind the decision to reduce the flights; however, Southwest says the cuts are also motivated by a considerable reduction in the customer demand and airline flexibility during the winter months.