Delta Air Lines used to be known for its excellent operating activities, but it seems that the Atlanta-based airline does not operate its schedule consistently on holidays. What is happening?
Delta cancels dozens of flights over Easter
Delta has so far canceled 74 flights today, compared to five cancellations at American and one cancellation at United. These operational issues are expected to continue at least until tomorrow, so do not expect flights to return to normal tomorrow.
This is a significant number of cancellations, but what makes it worse is that Delta seems to be making a ritual of experiencing problems over holidays. Delta had a Thanksgiving crash with more than 600 cancellations, mainly blaming the coronavirus. Then Delta also canceled dozens of flights over Christmas. And now there is Easter …
Delta temporarily sets seat lock
Delta is the only major US airline to consistently block seats in all cabins, and we know that the airline will end this policy on May 1, 2021. Well, for Sunday and Monday, Delta will lift its current policy of lifting seat blocking to be able to accommodate as many customers as possible.
I see both sides here, but it’s a bad shape:
- On the one hand, if you are going to experience major operational problems, I can realize that the priority is to get as many people as possible on planes; Delta claims that an “overwhelming” number of people were booked for the same day trip
- On the other hand, many people go to great lengths to book Delta and even pay extra for it due to this policy of blocking seats
Delta needs to do something substantial and proactive for those who do not get an empty seat as follows, as it was a distinguishing point for the airline.
Why does Delta have operational problems?
Delta claims that these cancellations are due to ‘various factors’, including:
- Staff
- A large number of employees’ vaccinations
- Pilots returning to active status
At the most basic level, this amounts to a shortage of pilot staff:
- Due to the large number of pilots who have retired and started working earlier, pilots need to be trained in new aircraft, and this is not an overnight process
- Delta does not have enough pilots to fly the right types of aircraft, especially narrow-body aircraft
- Under normal circumstances this is not a problem, but when Delta tries to increase the capacity for the holidays, it becomes problematic
- This issue is exacerbated by Delta’s policy of blocking seats, which allows the airline to offer only significantly less capacity than competitors
To be clear, it is perfectly fair if Delta is unable to add capacity and is too thinly distributed. The question is why the airline is constantly rescheduling itself – this is the third time this has happened over a holiday. The airline promised to learn after Thanksgiving, but it still did not.
Bottom line
Delta has some major operational problems during Easter, as the airline has canceled dozens of flights due to a continuing shortage of pilots. To accommodate as many passengers as possible, the airline also suspends its typical seat-blocking policy.
It’s clearly a tough time for airlines in terms of scheduling and staffing, but it’s the third time Delta has been in a situation since the end of last year, while American and United have not. What is happening?
Can anyone make sense of why Delta is not learning from its mistakes? Have any OMAAT readers been affected by these operational issues?
(Tip of the hat to see from the wing)