American Airlines has delivered a record-breaking Thanksgiving operation, carrying almost 6.5 million passengers on more than 59,400 flights over the 11-day period (November 16th through 26th).
Not only did more passengers travel with American Airlines than ever before, but the airline also canceled fewer flights than during any other Thanksgiving in its history – just 55 flights in total were canceled (0.09%), none of which were operated by American Airlines mainline. The absence of the severe staff shortages that have plagued previous Thanksgivings no doubt played its part in securing such a robust operational performance.Despite a snowstorm at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), one of American Airlines’ largest hubs, the carrier did not cancel any flights at the airport. Several other airports nationwide were also affected by adverse weather conditions, including Denver International Airport (DEN), where more than 700 flights were delayed by all airlines.
Teamwork across the country
Such a massive operation can only function as planned with the support of a vast team of colleagues, from those on the ground at airports across the country to the pilots and cabin crew aboard.
American Airlines’ Chief Operating Officer, David Seymour, summed up the carrier’s achievements and thanked the more than 130,000 colleagues who supported the operation this Thanksgiving holiday, in addition to those at the FAA and TSA, saying,A bumper Thanksgiving
According to reports from CBS News, TSA agents screened more than 2.2 million passengers on Friday, 2.6 million on Saturday, and 2.9 million on Sunday. Even today, as passengers across the country continue to head home, few issues have been reported.
The total number of passengers traveling nationwide on all airlines throughout the Thanksgiving period could top 30 million this year.American Airlines’ closest rivals, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, also predicted significant increases in passenger numbers throughout the Thanksgiving period compared to last year.
The former expected to see just shy of 6 million passengers, while the latter was preparing to welcome between 6.2 and 6.4 million onboard.To accommodate the significant uptick in passengers throughout peak periods, American Airlines has been deploying its Boeing 777-200ERs on several key domestic routes this winter, including Dallas (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX) and Miami (MIA) to Charlotte (CLT).