American Airlines Is Canceling Hundreds of Flights
The airline is cutting flights departing from Philadelphia.
American Airlines is the latest airline to announce significant cancellations, as the chaos of summer travel seems to be extending into fall. USA Today reports that American Airlines will make major flight cuts to its Philadelphia hub.
The airline will cut about 3% of its scheduled flights in September and about 5% in October. That will mean an average of seven flights cut each day in September and an average of 13 flights per day cut in October.
"American has taken steps to size our airline for the resources we have available and to build additional buffers into the remainder of our summer schedule. Last month, American took proactive steps to add resiliency into our schedule by reducing overall September system capacity by approximately 2%," an American Airlines statement explained. "These adjustments were made in markets with multiple frequencies—with the goal of moving customers to different flights."
According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, more than 1,800 domestic flights arriving to and departing from the Philadelphia International Airport were canceled by American Airlines between September and October.
"The schedule changes made by American across its hub network, including PHL, are indicative of the current travel atmosphere for all airlines and the need to balance passenger demand with capacity and staffing," Philadelphia International Airport's Deputy Director of Strategic Partnerships Kate Sullivan told the Business Journal.
American Airlines will reach out to customers who have made bookings on canceled flights to either get rebooked or for information about refunds.
Opheli Garcia Lawler is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.