Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 43

American Economic Liberties Project is also trying
to do away with " federal preemption " which means
you can't sue an airline in state courts.
" This preemption needs to go, " he says. " We
are surprised to see now that the airlines are even
angering Fortune 500 companies who use them
for business travel in a recovering economy. They
are not treating them right. "
McGee urges, " Let's do something constructive.
We're going to act on this and build support. A lot
of people are upset about this. "
A LITTLE CONTEXT
While consumer advocates cite airlines' responsibility
in the midst of a wobbly recovery period
this summer, the airline industry's association,
Airlines for America (A4A), has been quick to
point out a rapid recovery and a rush to ensure
reliable service.
Marli Collier, spokesperson for Airlines for
America, says, " A4A carriers strive to provide the
highest level of customer service and are working
diligently to ensure travelers have a safe, seamless
and positive travel experience. As our nation
emerges from the pandemic, industries across
the economy, as well as the federal government,
are facing a range of challenges-including a
tight labor market and increased absenteeism. "
She explains that from the airlines' perspective,
" The rebound in demand for air travel has been
rapid-quicker than most industry experts and
analysts ever predicted-and carriers are working
aggressively to meet this demand.
" Carriers proactively reduced their summer
capacity by 16% to improve operational reliability
and have been adjusting their fall schedules. Flight
schedules for September and October are down
by 15% compared to pre-pandemic levels, and
carriers are reducing September flights by 5%
compared to what was planned at the start of the
summer. Airlines set their schedules months in
advance and are constantly evaluating to optimize
performance and prioritize smooth operations.
" Carriers have also launched aggressive hiring
campaigns, and these efforts have been highly
effective. In June, U.S. employment for passenger
and cargo airlines reached an all-time high of more
than 767,000 employees, and A4A passenger carriers
(Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue,
Southwest and United) were staffed with 10% more
pilots per block-hour compared to pre-pandemic. "
Collier added that to put delays and cancellations
in context, " It is important to recognize that
61% of the cancelations for the first six months of
2022 were caused by weather and control of the
National Airspace System (NAS) collectively.
And in terms of refunds to customers, Collier
says, " A4A member carriers comply with federal
laws and regulations regarding cash refunds.
From 2020-2021, U.S. airlines issued $21 billion
in cash refunds. In 2021, passenger carriers
issued $8.18 billion in cash refunds. In 2020,
carriers issued $12.84 billion in cash refunds, up
from $7.46 billion in 2019. "
U.S. Travel Association's Freeman was optimistic.
" As demonstrated by our advancement of
programs like TSA PreCheck and Global Entry,
we will think creatively to remove the frictions that
travelers confront. "
Then he added his own context. " While less
than 3% of flights are canceled, we know that
travelers count on our industry to do better. To
further reduce cancellations and delays, U.S. Travel
supports increasing the mandatory retirement age
for pilots to ease the workforce shortage. We have
more than 1.5 million job openings across the
leisure and hospitality industry and it's going to
require new thinking to solve this problem. "
CLEAR SKIES AHEAD?
David Slotnick, senior aviation business reporter
for " The Points Guy " agrees with McGee that " it
was a remarkable summer because of how up in
the air things were, how unpredictable. "
He is optimistic, however, that last summer's
turbulence " has definitely improved. We are still
seeing cancelations when there's a thunderstorm
or bad weather, but the kind of staffing-related
disruptions have begun to self-regulate. "
Slotnick says that from his perspective the
airlines are trimming capacity now, " in a more
disciplined way. "
" What they are doing now is they've pulled a
lot of flights. They have more airplanes available
and more crew members, creating more slack in
the system and adding a bit of a buffer, more like
what we normally see. They [the airlines] learned
how important that is. "
Although Slotnick is optimistic, he warns that
the process of restaffing is not cut and dried. " It
takes years for a pilot to be certified and months
for pilots to get up to speed with a particular
airline. It's a slow, laborious task. Even with
airlines offering the highest pilot salaries ever.
None of that changes the fact that they have to
do the training. "
" Either prices will be higher or air travel will be
less reliable, " he predicts.
43
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Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue

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