Why are airlines struggling?

Airlines and the air traffic control system have struggled to overcome bad weather, technology problems, staffing shortfalls and other disruptions over the past two years, contributing to major meltdowns like the one that Southwest Airlines suffered over several days in late December.



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Staffing shortage
Despite $54 billion of taxpayer funds funneled into airlines to keep them alive during the pandemic, most airlines greatly reduced staff during the first year of the pandemic when air travel, and fares, plunged.

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U.S. travelers report that American Airlines is the most unreliable airline in the world when measured by the total flight problems and reported complaints in 2022. American is also the world's largest airline, so this finding may not surprise frequent flyers.

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For the first six months of 2023, 1.6% of flights have been canceled, far below the 3.2% cancellation rate for the first six months of last year and the 2.4% cancellation rate for first six months of pre-pandemic 2019.

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It's likely that domestic airfares will continue to sink through the rest of 2023, says Keyes. But prices still tend to run higher in peak holiday periods. To watch for low fares, you can enter your itinerary at sites such as Google Flights and Kayak and receive e-mail alerts when prices drop.

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Cost being the deciding factor for most fliers, airlines compete on price rather than service, and customers are willing to book the lowest-priced ticket regardless of the airline's reputation for customer indifference.

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Frontier Airlines has had the worst on-time arrival performance so far in 2023. Just 65.41% of Frontier flights arrived on time from January through April 2023.

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There are several reasons why flights may be canceled, including bad weather, air traffic restrictions, lack of airplane or staff, technical problems, and low passenger numbers.

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In any case, supersonic air travel for the masses looks like it's genuinely back on the cards. Boom is aiming for the first Overture test flights to take off in 2026 and for the planes to go into public service by 2029.

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“Lufthansa, one of the companies most affected by staff restrictions and strikes, tops the list of airlines with the highest number of cancellations with a total of 2,521 scheduled flights that were cancelled at the last minute in Europe,” a press release on the analysis reads.

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A separate report from passenger compensation specialist AirHelp identified London Gatwick as the worst European airport for delays and cancellations in June, when services across the continent were affected by staffing levels, industrial action and the ramping up of summer schedules.

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Here's the ranking of US airlines from MOST complaints in May 2022 to LEAST complaints in May 2022:
  • American Airlines (575 complaints)
  • United Airlines (400 complaints)
  • Frontier Airlines (301 complaints)
  • Delta Air Lines (281 complaints)
  • Spirit Airlines (269 complaints)
  • JetBlue Airways (244 complaints)


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