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As evidenced by the shocking scenes at airports across the country this summer, Americans are making up for lost time in their vacation plans, business trips, and destination arrangements due to the pandemic. More than 2 million travelers nationwide now pass through airport security, compared to less than 100,000 two years ago.
Airlines for America (A4A), which represents the top US airlines, released an update yesterday detailing the ways it will work to address the current challenges of the aviation sector and return commercial air service to its pre-pandemic capacity and efficiency. “We are doing this in two ways – we are listening to you and we are making changes to the way we work to serve the traveler as best we can,” A4A wrote.
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Adjust schedules
Ahead of the busy summer season, as widespread flight disruptions have been an ongoing issue this spring, A4A passenger airlines have systematically cut their winter schedules by 16 percent. It was important to avoid stretching their workforce too thin and creating more operational problems due to insufficient manpower to handle the sudden return of consumers to the skies.
“Airlines quickly learned that their pre-pandemic staffing models won’t work in the post-pandemic world,” A4A wrote. “Carriers are adapting to new employment realities, realizing that there will be a large number of staff calls due to Covid cases and fewer workers willing to work overtime.” .
Launching recruitment campaigns
To combat such staffing issues, US airlines have launched aggressive hiring campaigns to fill positions across the country, and A4A reports that they have been very successful. In the year As of June 1, member airlines have booked 1,000 block hours with 10 percent more pilots than in June 2019. And as of May, their full-time labor force was 1.8 percent shy of pre-pandemic levels.
“U.S. airlines are committed to intensifying recruiting efforts to maintain a pipeline of new employees who will support the industry in the coming years,” the trade group confirmed. Along those lines, passenger carriers recently established new pilot academies, revamped their recruiting initiatives and launched programs to help address financial barriers.
Updating travel instructions
From ticket purchase to touch. As the pandemic began, carriers realized they needed to adjust their customer service efforts, and eventually changed their travel policies to give consumers more flexibility. Such policy changes include eliminating changes to domestic flights and extending the expiration date for travel credits. And, while getting ticket refunds has been difficult for some, US airlines have issued $21 billion in cash refunds after COVID-19 hit and ground air travel (at least in the early days). “A4A member carriers comply with federal regulations regarding passenger refunds,” the organization confirmed.
Improving passenger relations
Airlines are investing heavily in passenger communications and accelerating, mobile apps are the most effective and efficient way for carriers to instantly update travelers or customers to make changes to their plans. With the development of new contactless and mobile functions during the pandemic, passengers have become dependent on technology to check-in, get updates, board their flights and access other information.
“Carriers are responding to these consumer preferences by dramatically improving and expanding mobile capabilities to include gate information, flight status, baggage tracking, automatic rebooking and more,” A4A wrote.
Increasing cooperation with the FAA
U.S. airlines are increasingly working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address a number of common operational challenges, such as labor shortages at the carrier and government levels and the climate that continues to plague air travel. .
In conclusion, A4A says, “The process of learning our country’s ‘new normal’ is downhill, and US airlines are adapting fast practices and implementing long-term solutions.” We acknowledge that our work is not done; That’s why we work hard to listen to our customers and demonstrate our commitment to safety, service and you.
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