American Airlines Cancels 31,000 Flights in November

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DALLAS – 'Tis better not to fly at all than to try to fly and then cancel. That’s the mantra coming from American Airlines (AA) today as it announces that it is cutting 31,000 flights from its November schedule. The idea is to reduce the disruptions that have plagued the industry this year.

The 31K AA flights represent about 16% of its schedule.

As has been widely reported, many airlines are cutting back on their schedules to prevent another season of travel chaos – such as we saw this summer – primarily driven by staffing shortages.

American Airlines will cancel 31,000 flights in November 2022. Photo: American Airlines

Adjusting to Reality

In an emailed statement, AA said, “Preliminary schedules are published 331 days in advance, and then adjustments are made closer in based on the schedule we intend to operate. We are now loading schedule adjustments approximately 100 days in advance, which is in line with how we adjusted our schedule in 2019 prior to the pandemic."

A report by Reuters shows that AA has already canceled 19,000 flights this year. The airline expects its current quarter capacity to be down approximately 9% compared to 2019.

American Eagle (Republic Airways) N447YX Embraer E175. Photo: Arturo La Roche/Airways