American Airlines to ax newly reinstated Caracas-New York route

American Airlines said Tuesday it will ax its Caracas to New York route on April 4 due to low demand just over three months after reinstating it. The surprise move comes amid a years-long battle between American Airlines Group and the Venezuelan government in which the world's largest airline says it has not been able to repatriate revenue. In January, the Forth Worth-based company wrote off US$592m which it said was stuck in Venezuela due to the government's failure to exchange it for hard currency. President Nicolas Maduro's cash-squeezed socialist government has said it is negotiating solutions. "We are suspending service on the JFK-Caracas route until market conditions improve," said Martha Pantin, a spokeswoman for the airline. "This suspension is due to demand not being strong enough to support this route." Since reinstating the flight in December, many seats have remained unfilled except around holiday periods.<br/>