As demand for summer travel surges, Delta trims schedule in effort to avoid disruptions (US.DAL) - 27 mai 2022
Delta Air Lines is cutting about 100 flights a day from July 1 through Aug. 7, becoming the latest carrier to scale back capacity in hopes of avoiding flight disruptions for thousands of travelers. The summer flight reductions represent about 2% of Delta’s scheduled departures. Other carriers including JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines have also trimmed schedules to give their operations more wiggle room to handle challenges like bad weather and staffing shortages.
Delta also asked pilots to pick up open shifts during a busy Memorial Day weekend, when it expects to fly 2.5 million people, up 25% from last year.
Fewer seats mean more pricing power for airlines as travelers return to the skies after more than two years of the Covid pandemic.
Southwest Airlines, for example, on Thursday said it expects its second-quarter capacity to be 7% lower compared with 2019 levels, with operating revenue up as much as 15% compared with three years ago.