Lauren Eliot Reuters The new CEO of American Airlines, Robert Isom, is aiming for one thing this summer: reliability. The airline grew faster than its big competitors last year and occasionally passengers faced extensive downtime, resulting in common challenges such as weather and staff shortages. Other airlines, such as Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines, faced similar problems that forced them to restrict flights. Now Isom, who took over at the helm of the largest US carrier on March 31, has said his priority is to ensure that passengers can rely on American this summer and beyond. “People really need to feel in control of their routes and we give them control by making sure they get where they want to go on time. I just can’t be more honest about that,” Isom told the pilots. during a company town hall last week, which was screened by CNBC. “Other airlines are really having a hard time.” A U.S. partner in the northeastern United States, JetBlue Airways, for example, told staff earlier this month that it would limit up to 10% of summer flights to avoid a recurrence of mass cancellations and delays, CNBC reported. West Coast Alaska Airlines has announced a 2% reduction in capacity this spring due to a shortage of pilots.
Free time leads to recovery
Air travel has risen and passengers have shown a willingness to pay for tickets after two years of pandemic, a trend that is helping airlines cover a jump in fuel costs. The Transportation Safety Administration on Friday examined more than 2.3 million people, about 10% less than in 2019, but increased by 57% compared to a year ago. Isom said domestic leisure travelers are offsetting the relatively weaker demand for business and international travel. March seemed to be the best American month in its history, he said. This echoed the comments of Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian when the airline reported results last week. American is set to present first-quarter results and outlook for the second quarter before the market opens on Thursday. American’s capacity in the first quarter fell by nearly 11% from the same period in 2019, it said in a statement last week. Delta, for its part, plans to fly 84% of its capacity in 2019 in the current quarter, from 83% in the first quarter. “The priority is to operate reliably,” Delta president Glenn Howenstein said in a earnings call. “If these demand trends continue, we have a chance to take it again or we could turn in a different direction, if needed.” US carriers have tried to attract staff to handle the recovery of the trip. The $ 54 billion in federally paid payroll airlines that won congressional appropriations have led to layoffs, but carriers have urged thousands to make acquisitions and extended leave of absence. Airlines face a shortage of pilots, especially for smaller regional carriers that cater to their hubs, which has forced them to cancel flights or restrict growth. Pilots from Delta, the US and the Southwest have been complaining or complaining about fatigue from exhausting programs in recent months. Isom said American has enough staff of pilots, flight attendants and customer service agents to handle summer travel. “We have brought the program to a level that matches the resources we have,” Isom told crews. Other development challenges include the acquisition of aircraft by manufacturers, including Boeing, which had stopped delivering the 787 Dreamliner for much of the past year and a half due to production defects. American said Boeing’s troubles had forced it to reduce some long-haul international flights.
Minimization of disorders
The airline is also working on ways to avoid successive delays that have been so costly for the airline and passengers. American has invested heavily in education and the Center for Integrated Business, an administration center in Fort Worth, Texas, to help avoid delays. One solution when bad weather occurs, which is common at its main hub as well as at major airports serving Miami and Charlotte, NC, is to work with air traffic control to create ground-delay plans that help prevent cancellations later. said Steve Olson, head of the IOC said during town hall. Olson said accountability is key, not only in measuring how quickly an airline recovers from a holiday, but also in determining the impact on airline crews, who have complained about long waiting times with scheduling and hotel services. Air hostesses or pilots who are out of place for missions during bad weather have increased cancellations and delays.
