This summer, Delta Air Lines Inc. is cutting flights, including just ahead of the Memorial Day busy weekend. This will help the airline recover faster from unexpected high absenteeism by staff, bad weather, and other issues that have rattled its operations recently.
The cancellation of flights to offload pressure
As per Bloomberg News, the airline has indicated it will trim about 100 flights per day in the U.S. and Latin America from July 1 to August 7 to help strengthen reliability for the renaming flights. It is also said that additional adjustments can happen, hinting at further reductions.
The near-term cancellation for the holiday weekend was initially disclosed in a memo sent to the employees on Wednesday to relieve day-to-day pressure by thinning the flight schedules over Memorial Day and beyond till June end.
Delta has a reputation for low cancellations and flight delays compared to other carriers. Still, this decision to cut flights shows how risky it has become to put staff flight adequately. Almost all U.S. carriers have cut second-quarter capacity initially, with some trimming farther into the third quarter as they struggle to cope with demand with a shortage of pilots.
Memos from Allison Ausband, Chief Customer Experience Officer, and John Laughter, Chief of operations, said that Weather, air traffic control issues, vendor staffing, and unexpectedly absences from some airline workgroups had affected Delta’s operation.
It would be difficult for airlines to move thousands of passengers to packed planes of other flights this summer. According to Robert Mann, travelers affected by the cuts in Delta flights would take several days to reach their destination. While delays and cuts have been consistent, he said that Delta is late in this game. It can be embarrassing for someone to fly over the Memorial Day weekend and be late.
The latest reduction in Delta’s flights is 2% of its scheduled flights from July to early August. It will have an unplanned 16% cut from the 2019 levels. American Airlines Group Inc. will be won by 8%, and United Airlines Inc. will decline by 13%.
Delta declined to reveal its capacity plans for the entire second quarter. The airline is canceling 24 hours ahead of the flights to be canceled over the holiday weekend. Sixty flights will be affected on Thursday and 40 flights on Friday. The prospect of passengers getting stranded in distant airports may discourage some passengers from booking summer getaways.
Samual Engel, Senior Vice President of an aviation consultant ICF feels that the Delta system is overloaded, and there is no way to sugarcoat the re-accommodation challenge. The fact is that vacant seats are on the wrong flights, like flights back home from beaches. Some Delta passengers, instead of traveling, should think of lighting up a barbecue at home instead.
