Worldwide airlines are preparing for a super busy summer, many believe that travel will finally return to pre-pandemic levels. Even so, some airlines will cut their flight offers.
American Airlines announced the cut of nearly 50,000 flights from its summer schedule, with June and July being the most affected months. The reduction represents 5% of the company’s total flights. Several American Airlines hubs across the United States will be affected, but Chicago O’Hare International Airport will see the biggest cuts.
In an interview with the Dallas Business Journal, American Airlines spokeswoman Adreas Koos justified the cut by saying it was just a normal adjustment.
“We are now publishing our final schedule approximately 100 days in advance, which aligns with how we adjusted our 2019 schedule before the pandemic. American is proud to offer the largest air fleet in the United States during the summer, with an average of more than 5,500 daily departures”, she reiterated.
Staff shortages affect other airlines
Flight cuts are becoming the norm as airlines around the world are still struggling with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the return to normal life last year and thousands of passengers eager to travel after a long period at home, demand for flights has skyrocketed, but airlines have been unable to keep up due to staff shortages.
The German company Lufthansa, for example, also announced the cut of 30,000 flights from its summer schedule because of staff shortages. The airline said staff shortages remained an issue and that it would be better to adjust the schedule now than to have a large number of last-minute cancellations.
Basic law of capitalist economies: high demand from customers and low supply of flights results in expensive airline tickets. So, for this summer vacation, prepare your wallets.