Welcome to a summer of travel hell

Fasten your seat belts: there is travel turbulence ahead. What began as a summer of so-called “revenge trip,” after two years of pandemic, has become a travel hell.

“I’m extremely frustrated and disappointed,” one steering wheel said.

“They took a few people on board and suddenly canceled the flight,” another said.

Kyndal Young and his kids weren’t about to risk wasting a minute at Disney World this weekend. “In case we missed this [flight]I had one more day to catch up … I incorporated one more day, ”he said.

Forty-eight million people are expected to be on the move this Independence Day weekend, the busiest in the pandemic, and the country’s airlines are struggling to keep up. Since Memorial Day, more than 200,000 flights have been delayed in the United States alone and 24,000 have been canceled, affecting nearly 2.4 million passengers, roughly the population of Houston.

That’s more than pre-pandemic levels, while airlines fly up to 25% less than in 2019 (according to Flight Aware) and charge 45% more for the airline ticket (according to Hopper).

Correspondent Kris Van Cleave asked, “Is it fair to say this is the fault of the airlines?”

“There is a shared responsibility; airline and aviation are a team sport,” said Henry Harteveldt, an air industry analyst and founder of Atmosphere Research in San Francisco.

As for what failed this summer, Harteveldt said: “It looks like everything has gone wrong. First, the airlines are still working to re-hire pilots, flight attendants and other employees. Second, the FAA is still working. to re-hire people.Three, the The airlines scheduled a lot of flights and, four, we just had bad weather, and a lot.

“You put it all together and you have a fragile system that has no room to flex. It just breaks.”

Van Cleave asked, “Congress, taxpayers rescued the airlines so they wouldn’t fire anyone. What does it mean there aren’t enough people?”

“Airlines received more than $ 50 billion in government subsidies to continue operating and keep people working, but in the early months, before subsidies were guaranteed, and to see their traffic decline by 96%, the airlines panicked. “

This pandemic panic caused airlines to offer early retirement to tens of thousands of employees. In December 2020, more than 3,000 pilots took acquisitions, exacerbating a growing shortage of pilots.

Delta riders marked the start of this festive weekend pickets at coast-to-coast airports. Pilot Maggie Eickoff told Van Cleave, “What Delta has done is it has overprogrammed us. Right now we don’t have the pilots to customize it.”

And COVID continues to be an unwanted passenger, resulting in higher-than-normal sick calls.

Captain Laura Einsetler, who has been an airline pilot for 27 years, predicted: “It’s going to be a tough summer, so we’re going to have as good a time as we can. It’s as frustrating for us as it is. passengers “.

“We also don’t want our flights to be delayed,” Einsetler said. “We like to be in the lead, control and carry the schedule as we expected. Right now, we’re doing things to sacrifice ourselves, things like flying our days off and giving up the holidays for ourselves.”

“CBS Sunday Morning” tried to talk to the CEOs of the country’s four largest airlines, but none was available to talk about summer travel. Airlines said they have already cut 15% of their planned summer flights and are increasing recruitment and training to try to meet growing demand.

On Thursday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian sent a letter to customers apologizing for the recent stretch of delays and cancellations.

Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg is among the millions affected. “I had a meeting with all the leaders of the airlines about what they are doing to avoid cancellations,” he told Van Cleave. “The next day, I woke up in the morning, my flight was canceled.”

“Is this the new normal, or will it improve?”

“That can’t be normal,” Buttigieg said. “We can’t have that number of cancellations and delays and accept that.”

“What’s your message to the airlines?”

“We are counting on you; we are looking for you to offer the service that matches the tickets you have sold,” Buttigieg said. “The end result is that they have to deliver.”

On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders called for fines of up to $ 55,000 per passenger if an airline cancels a flight due to staff shortages.

Van Cleave asked, “Is the situation so bad that the DOT should start fining the airlines?”

“We have fined airlines where they have been unable to offer refunds or treat customers well,” Buttigieg said.

“But not canceling a flight to staff?”

“Well, so there are other authorities that we can have and we will look at it, but what I prefer is to have a good result so as not to have to go there. It is clear that the airline sector is not prepared to meet public expectations. , and that worries me. “

Van Cleave asked, “Whose fault is it?”

Buttigieg replied, “I’m not interested in the game of guilt; I’m interested in making sure passengers can get where they need to be.”

A record 42 million people choose to drive this weekend, but getting off the road comes with pain in their pockets. According to the AAA, gas prices per gallon are $ 1.74 more on average than a year ago.

Van Cleave asked Mount Kenney, who was gassing a Buc-ee in northwest Georgia in the middle of a 3,000-mile family road trip, “Why not fly?”

“It’s too expensive,” Kenney said, “and I have a wife and son with me, so paying all three would be even more than we’re spending.”

And those who spend to fly are not necessarily landing happy. Airline analyst Henry Harteveldt found that 74% of those who flew or planned to fly said they regretted their decision.

But he has some tips for finding more friendly skies: “Always take a non-stop flight where you can. Take the first flight in the morning you can take. They’re the least likely to be canceled or delayed.”

He also said to pack light; checked baggage can complicate things if you need to re-book.

But most importantly: keep it light. “If something goes wrong, keep calm. But unfortunately, what you have to assume with your summer trip is that something will go wrong,” Harteveldt said. “And if you don’t, thank him and maybe buy a lottery ticket.”

For more information:

• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
• Follow Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research on Twitter

Story produced by John Goodwin, Young Kim and Julie Kracov. Editor: Lauren Barnello.

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• Travel
• Airlines