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Airlines say they’re prepared for a busy holiday season, with 10 percent more pilots than they did before the pandemic.



Airlines say they are bracing for a busy holiday season as travel continues to surge. This happens in the context of a Summer is marked by flight delays and cancellations. However, the industry said it had resolved staffing and flight scheduling issues and it was up for the challenge.

Domestic airlines are hoping for a Smooth Thanksgiving travel week, as they have adjusted their schedules and hiring needs to meet current flight demand; this is according to Airlines for America, the lobbying organization for major airlines including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines.

“US airlines are doing their best to help you have a safe holiday season with more than two million people flying every day,” said Sharon Pinkerton, senior policy assistant at A4A. The industry group remains hopeful that before next week, the start of a less than ideal summer will be when US airlines cancel more than 59,000 flights and delay nearly 630,000 more from May 1 to August 31. according to FlightAware data.

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Airlines optimistic about holiday travel

In response to what A4A acknowledges as a “challenging summer”, airlines have reduced flight schedules and ramped up recruitment efforts above pre-pandemic employment levels; According to the organization’s data, there are now 10% more pilots working for A4A airlines than before the pandemic.

“Airlines have reduced their schedules to make sure they have enough resources and capacity for the full travel schedule,” Pinkerton said, “…we are above pre-pandemic employment levels. “

In response to the increasing number of staff absenteeism due to the still circulating COVID-19 and the general reluctance to work overtime, airlines have also increased their reserve staff. Even so, the group has warned travelers that some problems may be unavoidable. This could include the ever-present threat of bad weather or air traffic control restrictions that cause flight capacity to be adjusted irregularly at certain times during the past year.

“The airlines are definitely ready. Pinkerton continued: “We actually hired thousands of other people. Basically, we’re leading in every HR category… we’ve got more people coming in, we’re going to keep hiring.”

Passenger numbers are lower than pre-pandemic levels

While air travel traffic is recovering since global travel restrictions were broadly lifted, airlines don’t expect to see passenger numbers reflecting 2019 levels until at the earliest. 2023; they noted a drop in passenger demand in places formerly reliant on transpacific business and travel.

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“We are seeing a dearth of long-distance international travel and corporate travel,” said John Heimlich, chief economist at A4A. “Travel demand increased strongly but not as consistently as in 2019” [levels].”

Overall, passenger numbers fell the least over the weekend, indicating a trend toward leisure travel, according to Transportation Security Administration data cited by A4A. Heimlich added that the weekends are not high commuting days for business travelers, but high commuting days for vacationers.

“We have a period of time to deal with pent-up demand,” says Heimlich.

As tourists flock to airports around the country this week and next, airports are expected to see an increase in passengers per day compared to last year, starting as early as Monday. Five.

For example, officials predict nearly 200,000 passengers a day at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on November 17 and 18 — the Thursday and Friday before the actual Thanksgiving holiday. That’s about 20,000 more passengers a day than at the same time last year, but only 80% to 90% of 2019’s figure, according to a LAX spokesperson.

“People are spreading their travel throughout the week, which I also think helps to ensure smoother operations,” said Pinkerton.

Chicago-based United Airlines predicts more than 5.5 million passengers over the same time period — a 12% increase from 2021 — with 90% of its flights compared to its 2019 schedule.

“We are on track to hire 15,000 people this year including pilots, flight attendants, ramp workers and customer service agents to help support our growing operation,” United said. know by email. “We anticipate Sunday, November 27 to be United’s busiest travel day since pre-pandemic with over 460,000 people expected to fly with us.”

Additional reporting by Meghna Maharishi.

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