DELTA Air Lines and American Airlines are cutting regional flights over the next few months due to pilot shortages, because of the Covid crisis, reports Bloomberg.
delta has cut back by 25 per cent for the first half of this year, the Atlanta-based carrier said on an earnings call. American has dropped 580 March flights at its wholly owned Piedmont Airlines and an undisclosed number this month and next at regional partners SkyWest and Mesa Air.
Carriers turned to their traditional hiring pool at regional partners after airlines moved to replace thousands of pilots who took early retirement in 2020.
Delta expects to add 100 to 200 pilots a month into next year, CEO Ed Bastian said. The company hasn't had a shortage of pilots or applicants at its mainline operations, he said.
The airline is 'pretty confident' that by the second half of this year, it will be able to restore services to communities that were cut in the first half, said president Glen Hauenstein.
American is proactively adjusting its schedule 'to mitigate any future travel disruptions' from near-term pilot shortages at the regional carriers, including those ill from the Omicron variant, said in a statement.
Delta's mainline operation hasn't exited any cities, although its regional partners, which ferry passengers from midsize and small cities to major hubs, have left 'a handful of markets,' Mr Bastian said.
Airline Weekly reported last month that Delta had left three locations and was suspending another 10 routes. Rules blocking airlines from ending flights to cities under federal aid provisions have expired, Delta said.
United Airlines has grounded 100 regional jets because of the same problem, CEO Scott Kirby said in December, and it has discontinued service to an unspecified number of cities.
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delta has cut back by 25 per cent for the first half of this year, the Atlanta-based carrier said on an earnings call. American has dropped 580 March flights at its wholly owned Piedmont Airlines and an undisclosed number this month and next at regional partners SkyWest and Mesa Air.
Carriers turned to their traditional hiring pool at regional partners after airlines moved to replace thousands of pilots who took early retirement in 2020.
Delta expects to add 100 to 200 pilots a month into next year, CEO Ed Bastian said. The company hasn't had a shortage of pilots or applicants at its mainline operations, he said.
The airline is 'pretty confident' that by the second half of this year, it will be able to restore services to communities that were cut in the first half, said president Glen Hauenstein.
American is proactively adjusting its schedule 'to mitigate any future travel disruptions' from near-term pilot shortages at the regional carriers, including those ill from the Omicron variant, said in a statement.
Delta's mainline operation hasn't exited any cities, although its regional partners, which ferry passengers from midsize and small cities to major hubs, have left 'a handful of markets,' Mr Bastian said.
Airline Weekly reported last month that Delta had left three locations and was suspending another 10 routes. Rules blocking airlines from ending flights to cities under federal aid provisions have expired, Delta said.
United Airlines has grounded 100 regional jets because of the same problem, CEO Scott Kirby said in December, and it has discontinued service to an unspecified number of cities.
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