Have You Heard?

WICHITA — U.S. Airways will no longer fly out of Wichita as of Nov. 1.

Spokeswoman Valerie Wunder says “sustained unprofitability” is the reason.

“Wichita has been unprofitable for a number of years for U.S. Airways,” she says.

U.S. Airways has been in and out of the Wichita market for more than two decades.

“We were really surprised to see their announcement today because their loads have been full,” says Valerie Wise, Wichita Airport Authority air service and business development manager.

The airline offers two flights a day to Phoenix. Mesa Airlines handles the operation for U.S. Airways.

“Well, it’s a loss of a . . . nonstop destination — a very popular destination,” Wise says.

There are no other nonstop flights to Phoenix from Wichita.

Wunder isn’t sure when Wichita became unprofitable for the company or if it was ever profitable.

“I don’t have how far back it’s been, but it’s been fairly consistent recently,” Wunder says.

The airline isn’t announcing any other canceled markets at this time.

Wunder won’t say if the airline will reconsider Wichita at some point.

“I really don’t want to speculate on that.”

WICHITA — “Bruno” debuts July 10, but that doesn’t concern director of airports Victor White.

“I’m not worried about it,” he says.

That’s even though Bruno, better known as actor Sacha Baron Cohen, shot a silly scene at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport after a film crew duped airport staff to get in.

“I can’t imagine they’d include it,” White says of the innocuous video.

Unlike some of Baron Cohen’s antics when he played the character Borat in another film, his new Austrian fashion photographer character “didn’t really create a disturbance to speak of of any kind.”

It did get a lot of worldwide attention, though, thanks to YouTube.

“It was just amazing,” White says.

The Sunday Times in London just mentioned the airport in a June 7 story, and the airport video is on the official Bruno Web site.

White plans to see the movie.

“Of course I will,” he says. “It’s going to be fun.”

He likens it to listening to Howard Stern.

“You may not admit that you like it, but you still listen to it.”