Written by William Hale
Following the cancelling of thousands of Southwest Airlines flights just a few weeks ago, American Airlines has also been canceling many flights, including some in San Diego. Over 2000 flights scheduled between Friday and Sunday were cancelled by the airline. According to FOX Business, the airline stated that the expectation was to see improvements on Monday and Tuesday. However, by 9:30AM ET the airline had already cancelled 300 flights and delayed 187.
It is an unusual problem for the travel industry, and many have speculated the cause of these cancellations. A combination of bad weather, a lack of flight attendants, and a shortage of pilots seems to have triggered the beginning of the airline’s troubles on Thursday. About two-thirds of Sunday’s cancellations were because of a lack of flight attendants and the remaining cancellations came from a shortage of pilots.
Chief operating officer David Seymour assured that 1800 flight attendants would return to their jobs Monday, with an additional 600 being hired this year by the carrier. In a letter to AA team members, Seymour wrote that “hiring for our airports is well underway and we anticipate 4,000 new team members joining us across the system in the fourth quarter.” Seymour also mentioned that the many customers impacted by these changes “are being rebooked the same day, and we apologize for having to make these changes.”
Staffing shortages and weather inconveniences have affected San Diegans looking to travel. On Sunday, six American Airlines flights were either cancelled or delayed. Hopefully the dysfunction apparent in the American travel industry subsides as we approach the holiday season.
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