Severe weather jolts the airline industry as expected record-breaking summer travel takes off
2 hours on the tarmac… $20 food voucher. As severe thunderstorms rip across the US, airlines are feeling the heat. Since Friday, 15K+ US flights have been delayed and nearly 5K canceled. The disruptions affected flights headed to New York and New Jersey airports — with delays averaging 3+ hours. Additional snags popped up in hubs like DC, Chicago, and Atlanta.
Rough skies: United said the FAA “failed” it after storm-related restrictions forced the airline to cancel nearly a fifth of its Monday flights.
Déjà blues: JetBlue also saw a high # of delays, after which the airline told employees it had room to improve its response.
A perfect storm… Summer is crucial for airlines’ balance sheets as folks pack planes and splurge on tix. Delta boosted its earnings guidance this week, pointing to “off the chain” travel demand. Still, stormy skies could rain on the profit parade. As of February, weather cancellations were up nearly 20 percentage points compared to 2018. What’s more, airlines are still grappling with staff shortages after a pandemic exodus. And setbacks add up: Southwest said it expected to lose up to $425M on its holiday meltdown last year.
It’s more than a passing storm… As travel szn takes off and extreme weather picks up, airlines plan on getting put to the test. Summer travel is already topping prepandemic levels, and the FAA said more delays are likely. This July Fourth weekend, nearly 4.2M travelers are estimated to fly — an 11% increase over last year.