It was another rough weekend for U.S. airlines in terms of delays and cancellations and today is not looking much better. How long will this “flightmare” continue for U.S. airlines?
Flightmare Continues Into 2022
The new year has not resulted in a fresh start for U.S. airlines, as delays and cancellations only intensified over the weekend and continue this morning.
According to FlightAware, yesterday was a rough day for many U.S. airlines:
- SkyWest cancelled 570 flights (23% of schedule) and delayed 668 (27%)
- SkyWest operates regional flights on behalf of Alaska, Delta, and United
- Southwest cancelled 436 flights (11% of schedule) and delayed 1,912 (50%)
- JetBlue cancelled 178 flights (16%) and delayed 529 (49%)
- Delta cancelled 178 flights (6%) and delayed 898 (33%)
- Mesa cancelled 143 flights (27%) and delayed 161 fights (31%)
- Mesa operates regional flights on behalf of American and United
- United cancelled 119 flights (5%) and delayed 939 (43%)
- Endeavor cancelled 112 flights (12%) and delayed 302 (33%)
- Endeavor operates regional flights on behalf of Delta
- Envoy cancelled 112 flights (12%) and delayed 333 (38%)
- Envoy operates regional flights on behalf of American
- Republic cancelled 99 flights (9%) and delayed 380 (34%)
- Republic operates regional flights on behalf of American, Delta, and United
- Spirit cancelled 98 flights (11%) and delayed 332 (40%)
- Frontier cancelled 81 flights (15%) and delayed 234 (44%)
- CommutAir cancelled 71 flights (27%) and delayed 87 (33%)
- CommutAir operates regional flights on behalf of United
- Allegiant Air cancelled 69 flights (13%) and delayed 223 (44%)
- Alaska Airlines cancelled 69 flights (10%) and delayed 275 (41%)
- GoJet cancelled 47 flights (18%) and delayed 134 (51%)
- GoJet operates regional flights on behalf of United
- Air Wisconsin cancelled 44 flights (16%) and delayed 71 (27%)
- Air Wisconsin operates regional flights on behalf of United
Already today, we are seeing cancellations and delays mounting:
- Southwest has canceled 437 flights
- SkyWest has cancelled 203 flights
- JetBlue has cancelled 136 flights
- Endeavor has cancelled 122 flights
- Republic has cancelled 110 flights
- United has cancelled 101 flights
- Delta has cancelled 71 flights
- Alaska has cancelled 61 flights
Airlines continue to blame delays and cancellations on poor weather and the omicron variant, which has led to a surge in sick calls from pilots and flights attendants.
If you are traveling this week, continue to expect flight disruptions: keep an eye on your itinerary, allow plenty of time for parking and security, and be prepared to spend long times on hold if your flight is cancelled and are unable to rebook on your airline’s website or mobile application.
Tip: if your flight is cancelled, reach out to a call center outside the USA and you will likely reach an agent much faster. A list of contact center telephone numbers are available on your airlines’ website. You can also try social media channels, particularly Twitter.
A lengthy line formed Sunday at a Denver International Airport customer service desk as flight delays and cancellations caused by COVID and winter weather continue to impact air travel. https://t.co/kt7bSkvbSG pic.twitter.com/3GhqLv46vX
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 3, 2022
CONCLUSION
Unfortunately, flight delays and cancellations have continued into 2022 and continue to plague most U.S. airlines (somehow, American Airlines has enjoyed a smooth week of operations). Expect these interruptions to continue this week as a surge in omicron cases continues in the USA.
image: Payton Peterson / Twitter
Flew Delta yesterday, no drama. Arrived early
No issues with Southwest yesterday either. We were 20 min delayed BWI->BOS but nothing major.
Might want to check out the stories this morning that United is bringing in unvaccinated Flight Attendants from the UK to help with staffing shortages. Can’t make this stuff up if you tried. I would post a link, but you know, new rules and everything.
Go ahead. That’s fascinating.
Well darn it, this is a link I would actually LIKE to see, lol
A lot of this may be related to the snowstorm here in the east. Biggest snow we have seen in DC in a couple of years and the city is essentially shut down. Not much plowing going on either as supposedly half the crews are out with Covid.
Right wing site warning
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/01/02/exclusive-united-airlines-outsources-work-potentially-unvaccinated-london-flight-attendants/
Pilots site
https://ae4hf.org/
Pretty loose article in that there is nothing stating whether the London crews are actually unvaccinated. Only that they are potentially unvaccinated as there is no mandate in the UK. It’s all speculation and I will bet that 98% of them, if not all, have been jabbed. Silly stuff.
I think it’s fair to post links, but I also think it’s fair to critique the quality of links being posted and their potential biases (which you flagged up front – thanks for that – I hope it becomes a tradition around here). First, it’s Breitbart, which is a right wing propaganda outlet (the most popular article linked on the front page had the headline “Trump Endorses Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban for Reelection”), which cites principally to an avowedly anti-vaxxer group.
It doesn’t mean they’re necessarily wrong (I don’t know about the Breitbart story), but I have my doubts about it.
Covid has become the favorite word used by losers and lazy people to hide their incompetence.
Not so sure about that in some areas right now. In the DMV it seems the short list now is who DOESN’T have it. It’s pretty much in every house at this point. And I am not exaggerating. No one is overly sick, just a cold, but nevertheless it’s affecting businesses and services here. It will move West very soon and you will all start to experience this as well.
Exactly. Everyone has Covid with basically no symptoms but the Lord and the Demented still makes everyone to quarantine. I have two friends that tested positive with absolutely no symptoms and are now trapped inside a bedroom. For what???? We don’t quarantine for cold but they made Covid a huge disease when it is not.
While I can agree with you to a certain point there are also numbers coming out of Maryland today that sort of explain why. Covid Hospitalizations have been markedly increasing. 75% of those in the hospital now are unvaccinated. So it would be, I assume, to try and not spread this further to those unvaccinated and thereby create stress on the hospital system which is already working at very reduced staff because of Covid.
I am sorry but when I read the word unvaccinated I stopped reading. There is a vaccine. It is free and readily available. Those that don’t want to get the vaccine are the ones that should be living in their basements and wearing masks. Not me. I am not kidding, keeping vaccinated people locked at home with no symptoms just because they tested positive is a disgrace. People are losing their patience and I feel bad for this Government since their stupidness will backfire.
At this point, should we be bending over backwards for the unvaccinated? They had plenty of chances to get vaccinated
It tends to be my sentiment as well. However, that doesn’t negate the consequences of putting a strain on the hospital systems.
Consequences on hospital systems? Have you thought about the consequences on mental health long term? Stop finding excuses. Open the country, ignore Covid and let the unvaccinated worry about themselves. The main reason people don’t vaccinate is that nothing changes. I have two friends confined in a hotel bedroom just because they tested positive. Triple vaccinated and zero symptoms. Patience is wearing down.
Santastico, my friend, no one is closed here in the DMV. There is no lockdown or any sort of changes. Schools are open for the most part, life is going on. However, our (Republican) Governor issued the warning today that statistics for hospitals are getting alarming and we need to be diligent in helping protect the system from being overrun. That’s a reasonable request. He did not imply that there would be any changes, just imploring people to get vaccinated and avoid large indoor gatherings.
Even in NYC the mew Mayor came right out and stated there will be no more lockdowns or forced remote learning for schools.
As a father who dealt with a daughter who developed Anorexia last winter (she is now recovered after a horrific and painful six months) during remote learning and school closures, I wholeheartedly agree with you, that we need to keep society open for our mental health. But that does not mean we also can’t execute caution and care during brief periods when certain areas may experience hospital staff shortages and increased Covid patients.
Even your nemesis Biden has been pretty hands off in changing much since the Omicron Tsunami. I think most everyone agrees that we have to keep things open and move forward.
@Santastico, maybe I’m living under a rock, but who is keeping vaccinated (or even unvaccinated) people locked down?
Sure, there are complications with international travel, but aside from that I am able to do whatever and go wherever I want these days, even in NYC and DC (cities that are generally stricter covid-wise than other places). My kids are in school, I am at work, we can go shopping, dining, etc. Not sure what restrictions you’re referring to.
@hp12c: did you miss when I said I have two friends (a couple) locked inside a hotel room in quarantine because they tested positive? They are both triple vaccinated and have absolutely no symptoms but because of Lord Fauci they are considered dangerous so they need to stay inside their room for the next 5 days. Also, have you heard the Lord is now suggesting that even after 5 days in quarantine they will probably need to test negative to be “free”? Thus, to answer your question, there are still huge restrictions to anyone that tests positive even after 3 shots with no symptoms at all. Why????
@Stuart my friend, when I say “open the country” I mean stop with stupid testing and let people live their lives. Tell me, what is the use of a daily statistic of number of people that tested positive? Who cares? It is meaningless at this point. Count how many died not how many tested positive. Have you seen people been tested for flu? Same should apply for Covid now. It became the new flu. Having vaccinated people quarantine because they teated positive with no symptoms is beyond disgraceful.
@Santastico. For those who have no symptoms, nor care if they expose anyone, correct, testing may be absurd. But I doubt few in those categories actually do anyway. I am an example of someone that if I am notified of exposure I will test, mostly because I have many older clients around the world I have to visit and feel a responsibility to them. The same reason that if I had a cold in the past I would not go into meetings (even if I felt able to) and spread it to others. It’s just a decent thing to do.
As far as your friends, the reality is that no one (assuming they are in the U.S.) is keeping them locked in their hotel room. This is not Australia. The CDC issues recommendations, local governments can decide if there is enforcement. I have never heard of a single person in the U.S. being forced by armed officers to remain in their room. Or any past issued violations for not isolating or quarantining. I am quite certain that they are more than able to walk out of their hotel, get in a car, and do whatever they wish to do. Is it the right thing? That’s for them to decide. For me five days in a hotel room sounds pretty easy in comparison to the remote chance of my spreading it to someone who may not fare as well. It’s not like we are in a hole somewhere with no Internet or contact to the outside world. But that’s me. You do you. No one is, in reality, stopping you or your friends.
The irony in all of this in relation to the comments of conservative readers here, is the idea that the U.S. has become some kind of nanny state. The fact is that we have probably one of the most lenient approaches to Covid in the world in comparison to other countries.
@santastico, I did gather that your friends are in insolation in a hotel room due to testing positive. If they’re in the U.S., though, then my question still stands – who’s forcing them to isolate? If in the U.S., then they’re isolating on their own accord. Even if there are CDC recommendations to isolate upon a positive test, there is absolutely nobody enforcing those recommendations.
As @Stuart says, if your friends felt like it, they could leave their hotel, take off their masks, cough and sneeze wherever they like, not wash their hands, and they’d suffer no consequences aside from feelings of guilt over potentially exposing people to an illness. I’m assuming they’re staying in their hotel rooms in order to avoid that guilt.
The fundamental difference is that the common cold rarely kills people.
There is a vaccine for Covid. How many fully vaccinated people have died? You have the option to stay in your basement.
When will the airlines go back to social distancing via empty middle seats? Lol.
Yes! I miss the beginning of the pandemic, no testing requirements, empty planes and at home I could just day drink and watch Tiger King. Those were the days.
In hindsight, you could have flown all over the place in March/April 2020 on empty planes for little money or points, even maskless! We were all afraid of Covid (for good reason), but in reality, it was transmitting at such a low level, there was basically no risk. Quarantine on arrival rules were universally unenforced and hotel rooms were dirt cheap.
Please before anyone blasts the “unvaccinated”, remember there are many any folks who cannot get vaccinated (or they would suffer much worse health consequences), these include cancer patients and those with auto immune issues – like thyroid, MS etc…… thanks.
its like covid magically doesn’t hit american airlines…weird huh…why don’t the other airlines try anotehr excuse.
American. as the largest airline has the least number of cancellations because they realized triple pay was less costly than all the cancellations they were sure to have, like the other airlines.