Struggling JetBlue will reduce its summer schedule: Travel Weekly

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JetBlue, which has been beset by operational problems this month, will reduce its schedule in May and through the summer by 8% to 10%. 

“Given we anticipate continued industry challenges and heavy demand into the summer, we are planning more conservatively and trying to be proactive where we can with cancellations due to disruptive weather and air traffic control events,” spokesman Derek Dombrowski said in an email. 

The carrier’s decision to pare back its schedule, which was first reported by CNBC, comes despite a surge in leisure travel demand that has helped send ticket prices soaring this year. But it also corresponds with a spate of JetBlue cancellations amid staffing shortfalls. 

Over the weekend, JetBlue canceled 342 flights, which represented 17% of its schedule, according to FlightAware data. Over the first 10 days of April, the carrier canceled more than 1,400 flights, or 14% of its schedule, while more than 50% of the flights it did operate arrived late. 

Dombrowski said that despite hiring more than 3,000 crewmembers already this year, staffing at JetBlue remains constrained. The shortage, he said, has exacerbated operational challenges this month that began with severe weather and air traffic control delays up and down the East Coast. The carrier expects the remainder of April to be challenging. 

“We sincerely apologize to our customers for these disruptions, and we are working to cancel flights in advance whenever possible so they have time to adjust their plans and do not need to show up to the airport,” Dombrowski said. 

JetBlue became the second U.S. airline in the past four days to announce a schedule drawback due to staffing issues.

Alaska Airlines cited a pilot shortage on April 7 when announcing a 2% schedule reduction through June, a move it made after canceling 8% of its flights during the first week of April, FlightAware data shows. 

“Unfortunately, during the first few months of 2022, a backlog built up in our training program. Trainings were canceled and delayed due to student or trainer illness during the omicron surge and due to the operational impact of winter storms, and they were not rescheduled fast enough,” the carrier said.

As a result, Alaska entered April with 63 fewer pilots than it had expected when the airline scheduled flight crews three months earlier. 

Alaska, like other U.S. airlines, is hiring pilots at a much higher rate than normal to keep up with the return of travel demand and to make up for pilots who took early retirements during the pandemic in 2020.

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