More Than 20% Of American Airlines Flights Canceled Over The Weekend
DFW AIRPORT (CBSDFW.COM) - Some American Airlines travelers are still feeling the effects from a weekend fraught with cancellations and delays.
The airline said more than 20% of its flights were cancelled Sunday. As of Monday afternoon, an AA spokesperson said 430 flights had been cancelled, or about 7% of its total flights.
With those cancellations and lines, passenger Diana Jackin grabbed her phone during a layover Sunday and started recording.
"I just noticed this massive line of literally hundreds of people," she said. "When I got to the front of the line, I asked someone, 'You know, how long have you been waiting?' And they said, 'Five hours," and the person next to them said, 'We could have flown across the country in the time that we've been waiting in line.'"
Jackin, returning to Reno from a softball tournament with her 16-year-old daughter, had a two-hour delay and she was one of the lucky ones.
"We had school this morning, we had work. We didn't get in until 2 a.m., to bed at 3 a.m., and you know that was not all part of the plan," she said.
Others were told they couldn't fly home for days.
"We got to the airport, we're supposed to fly out Sunday, and when we got there, we saw that it was cancelled. So we went to talk to American Airlines, and it was kind of like, 'It's out of our hands, so we can book you, but it won't be until Wednesday.'" said passenger Joana Pena.
An AA spokesperson said more than 1,600 flights were cancelled over the weekend.
They blame the weather last week, including severe winds, which they said took crew members out of their regular flight sequences. But with Southwest Airlines having just experienced similar turbulence - and the holidays just around the corner - Jackin said she'll assume the worst and book accordingly.
"I'm just booking assuming that the flight is going to be four hours delayed to canceled," she said. "I know there are a lot of really frustrated people out there including me."
American Airlines said it does have around 1,800 flight attendants who will be returning from pandemic leave November 1.
It also said it plans to hire around 4,000 additional employees by the end of the year.