Welcome to the winter trip to Hell

Tighten your seatbelt. Two years after the plague, the winter solstice, known as the “vengeance,” began.

One pamphlet stated: “I was very upset and upset.

“A few people were on board, and they suddenly canceled the flight,” said another.

Kyndal Young and her children were not worried about losing a minute at Disney World this weekend. “If we lose this [flight]I had one more day to follow.

Forty-eight million people are expected to be active this weekend during Independence Day, and the country’s airlines are struggling to keep up. Since Memorial Day, more than 200,000 flights have been delayed and 24,000 canceled in the U.S. alone, affecting nearly 2.4 million passengers, including Houston residents.

This is higher than the pre-epidemic level, with airlines flying at less than 25% in 2019 (according to Flight Aware) and paying an additional 45% for aircraft (according to Hopper).

Reporter Chris Van Cleve asked, “Is this the airline’s fault?”

“There is a common responsibility: airlines and aviation are team sports,” said Henry Hartevelt, a San Francisco-based aviation industry analyst and atmospheric researcher.

What went wrong this summer, Hartevelt said: “Everything seems to be going wrong. First, airlines are still working to hire pilots, flight attendants and other staff. Second, the FAA is still working to hire people. Airlines have scheduled many flights. And four, we have bad weather, and a lot.

“You put all this together, and you have a weak system that has no place to bend. It breaks.”

“Congress, taxpayers have guaranteed that the airlines will not fire anyone. Does that mean there are not enough people?”

“The airlines received more than $ 50 billion in government subsidies to keep them operational and people working, but in the first few months before any subsidies were confirmed and the airline was 96% down, the airlines were shocked.”

The pandemic has forced airlines to retire tens of thousands of employees. By December 2020, more than 3,000 pilots had been purchased, exacerbating the growing shortage of pilots.

Delta pilots announced the start of the holiday weekend. Choosing from beach-to-beach at airports. Pilot Maggie Ekkoff told Van Cleve: “What Delta has done is beyond our control, we don’t have pilots now.

And Kovid continues to be an unwanted passenger, resulting in more sick calls than usual.

“Winter will be difficult, and we will do our best,” said Captain Laura Einsler, who has been an airline pilot for 27 years. It is also frustrating for us. “For passengers”

“We don’t want our flights to be delayed,” Einsler said. As expected, we want to lead, control and fly the program. Currently, we are doing sacrificial work, such as flying on weekends and giving up our vacations.

CBS Sunday Morning tried to contact the CEOs of the country’s four largest airlines but none was available to discuss the summer trip. The airlines have reduced their winter flights by 15 percent and are hiring and training to meet the growing demand.

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

Count Pete Boutigig, one of the millions who were injured. “I discussed with all the airline leaders what they are doing to prevent cancellations,” he told Van Cleve. “I got up the next morning and my flight was canceled.”

“Is this the new normal or will this be better?”

“This may not be normal,” Buttigieg said. “We cannot and will not accept this number cancellation and delays.”

“What is your message to airlines?”

“We count on you; we want you to provide a service that matches the tickets you sold.” “The main thing is they need to deliver.”

On Wednesday, Senator Bernie Sanders demanded a $ 55,000 fine for canceling a flight due to staff shortages.

“Should DOT start punishing airlines because the situation is so bad?”

“We have fined airlines for failing to provide refunds or treat customers well,” Boutigig said.

“But he doesn’t cancel the flight for the crew?”

“That’s right, so there are other officials we can have and we will look into it, but what I want to do is to get good results even before we go there. The airline sector is not ready to meet the needs of the people, and I am concerned.”

“Whose fault is it?”

Buttigieg replied: “I’m not interested in the game of guilt; I want to get passengers to where they want to be.”

Record 42 million people are choosing to drive this weekend, but hitting the road causes pain in your pocketbook. According to AAA, the price of gas per gallon averaged $ 1.74 a year ago.

“Why don’t you fly?”

“It’s very expensive, and I have a wife and a son with me, so it will be more than we can afford to pay for all three.”

And those who fly out are not necessarily happy. Airline analyst Henry Hartevelt said 74 percent of those who flew or planned to fly regretted the decision.

But there are some tips for finding a friendly sky.

He also packs light; If you want to reschedule, a checked bag will complicate matters.

But most importantly: keep the light on. “If something goes wrong, stay calm. But unfortunately, what you have to anticipate on your summer trip will be wrong,” said Hartwell. “And if that’s not the case, thank you, and maybe buy a lottery ticket.”

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History by John Goodwin, Young Kim and Julie Krakov. Editor: Lauren Barnello.