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U.S. NEWSThursday 24 December 2015
Airlines prep for holiday crush: More flights, bigger planes
DAVID KOENIG — delays at a major air- “We saw that through the job of adjusting schedules Some of the additional
AP Airlines Writer port, a technology glitch Thanksgiving holiday sea- for peak holiday periods. flights are late at night,
DALLAS (AP) — Airlines — can ripple across the son, and we’ve seen that According to Mark Duell which gives travelers more
are shifting the timing of country and leave tens of through November and of FlightAware, U.S. airlines options — and sometimes
thousands of flights, even thousands of passengers December,” said Steve added up to 700 flights a a lower fare. American
adding dozens of red- standing in airport lines. Hozdulick, Southwest Air- day on Monday, Tuesday, and United successfully
eyes, as they try to avoid “The biggest factor is al- lines’ managing director of Wednesday, Saturday and used the redeye tactic
delays while hauling mil- ways weather,” said Amer- operational performance. Sunday, compared with over Thanksgiving.
lions of passengers from “Hubs like Houston, Chi-
now through the Christmas Travelers walk to their gates at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Airlines are shifting the cago and Denver will see
weekend. large increases of flights
Success or failure could all timing of thousands of flights, even adding dozens of redeyes, as they try to avoid delays while departing after 10 p.m. —
depend on the weather very similar to what we did
and Mother Nature isn’t hauling millions of passengers from now through the Christmas weekend. Success or failure over Thanksgiving,” said
making it easy on airlines. United Airlines spokesman
Rain and fog in the North- could all depend on the weather. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Charles Hobart. Ameri-
east caused delays can added night flights at
Wednesday morning in ican Airlines spokesman United posted its lowest the same days last week. Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix
Boston, New York and Ross Feinstein. flight-cancellation rate They cut about 4,400 flights and Charlotte.
Washington — thebusi- Back-to-back storms led ever for a Thanksgiving on Christmas Eve and At Delta, some extra flights
est part of the country’s to more than 4,300 can- week, and Southwest had 5,700 on Friday, Christmas will connect big cities that
airspace. Rain in Chicago celed flights around Christ- its best on-time perfor- Day, when fewer people get heavy traffic all the
and Atlanta caused some mas 2012. This time the mance ever for the day want to travel, he said. time, while others will go
delays in those cities too. Northeast corridor not only before the holiday, which Delta Air Lines and its Del- to warm-weather desti-
Severe storms that ripped should be free of snow and helps reduce other prob- ta Connection affiliate nations, said spokesman
through Mississippi and ice, it should be relatively lems such as lost or de- scheduled 5,253 flights Morgan Durrant. Delta
Alabama, however, had balmy with temperatures layed bags. next Sunday, compared will occasionally use big-
little impact on air travel on Christmas Day in the From 9 percent to 19 per- with fewer than 5,000 ger planes. Through Jan.
since no major airports are 60s from New York to Bos- cent of flights were de- on a typical winter Sun- 3 there is an Atlanta-Salt
in those states. ton. But rain and snow are layed over the peak five- day. Southwest expected Lake City round trip using
There were about 2,600 forecast through Thursday day Thanksgiving period, Wednesday to be its busi- a 293-seat Airbus A330 in-
delays and 230 cancel- in parts of the West, and according to tracking ser- est day, with more than stead of smaller planes
ations by 2 p.m., accord- the South and Ohio Valley vice FlightAware.com. 3,800 flights. such as Boeing 737s with
ing to flight tracking site could see severe storms A year earlier, when the The peak day was last Fri- just 160 seats.
FlightAware. More than before Christmas. weather was worse, delays day for American, with The airlines say they will
21,000 flights were sched- Airlines have been helped ran between 12 percent 6,900 flights, and United, have enough employees
uled for Wednesday and a recently by the El Niño and 31 percent. nearly 5,000, but both will on hand to handle the ex-
typical day sees about 150 pattern that has brought Besides the vagaries of also operate increased tra passengers.
cancelations and 4,000 above-average tempera- weather, airlines in recent flights each of the next two The Transportation Secu-
delays. tures to northern states. years have done a better Sundays. rity Administration is also
The catch: flights are ex- adjusting staffing, said
tremely full over the holi- spokesman Mike Eng-
day period, with most land. Wait times at secu-
travelers unable to make rity checkpoints have in-
changes in their schedule. creased this year, and pas-
Airlines expect about 38 sengers can expect longer
million passengers over a delays during the holidays,
17-day period spanning he said. Holiday travel-
Christmas and New Year’s, ers slow the process when
an increase of about 3 they overstuff carry-on
percent, according to bags, which makes them
an industry trade group, harder to screen. Many
Airlines for America. The travelers are bound to be
group says the average stressed out. Patience will
flight could be 90 percent be a valuable commodity.
full. Along with portable char-
Crowds like that mean that gers for phones and other
any hiccup in the system gadgets.q
