The summer travel season is here, and it is becoming one of the busiest on record. According to AAA, 48 million Americans will travel this holiday weekend — and nearly 3.5 million Americans will fly.
If the past several months are any indication of how airlines will meet holiday demand this Independence Day weekend, thousands of people will have their flights canceled.
Memorial Day weekend was a mess.
U.S. airlines, which are still rebuilding flight crews after the COVID-19 pandemic travel slowdown, canceled more than 2,500 flights over the four-day Memorial Day holiday that marks the traditional start of the busy summer travel season.
The situation has not improved much since May. Last weekend, over 1500 flights were canceled.
Flight cancelations have plagued the airline industry in 2022. One of the main reasons airlines are struggling to meet higher demand should be no surprise — labor shortages.
‘The situation that we see right now, with flight cancellations and long support delays, is due to the confluence of several issues,” said Danny Finkel, chief travel officer at TripActions, a travel expense management firm in Seattle, Washington.
“Some airlines brought back entire fleets to meet higher-than-anticipated demand for travel this summer but have been unable to meet staffing needs due to various reasons, such as re-certifying pilots, getting necessary security clearances, and even greater than anticipated time off.”
These shortages are pushing overworked flight crews to their limit. Pilots are frustrated — as are their unions. We may soon see strikes.
The New York Post:
More than 1,300 Southwest Airlines pilots picketed at a Dallas airport Tuesday — saying that they’re overworked and understaffed by the airline company.
The protest was held at Dallas Love Field as Southwest Airlines and the pilots’ union, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, have been in the process of negotiating a new contract for two years.
But Southwest is not alone. Delta Air Lines pilots are planning to picket sometime this week. They are working longer hours and haven’t had a pay raise since 2016.
Hundreds of off-duty Delta Air Lines pilots plan to picket this week, demanding a pay increase and that the carrier change their schedules to reduce flight disruptions.
The Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement Monday that its nearly 14,000 members are working longer hours even as the airlines cancel thousands of flights, angering customers.
“When delays or cancellations happen, the pilots share in our passengers’ frustration,” said Jason Ambrosi, a union official and Delta pilot, said in the statement. “As long-term stakeholders in our airline, seeing our operational reliability suffer is bad business and puts the Delta brand at risk.”
Unfortunately, there isn’t a quick fix for the industry. Until this is corrected, hundreds (or thousands) of flights a day may be canceled.
In a Facebook post that has gone viral, Kristie Koerbel, a flight attendant, offered some blunt advice for people wanting to avoid flight disruptions: “Things are not good….. if it’s less than 7 hours – DRIVE!”
At least gas is cheap. Oh, wait…
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