American Airlines will drop October flying capacity 55% from a year earlier as the coronavirus pandemic suppresses travel demand and the carrier ends service to 15 US cities. The airline is trimming operations during the industry’s slowest period, after families normally end summer vacations and business travel picks up. The spread of the virus has damped demand since March, with passenger traffic remaining less than a third of 2019 levels, based on TSA screenings at US airports. American said earlier this month that it will end service to 15 cities on Oct. 7. The carrier is adding 24 seasonal routes in the new schedule to try to capture more leisure passengers traveling from cold weather cities to warmer destinations, including flights to Miami, Phoenix and Mexico, American said Sunday. Most of the routes will operate on Saturdays.<br/>