Cancellations and delays by American Airlines due to a labor dispute between the company and its pilots are having only a modest impact, if any, on concessions revenues thus far.
American has said it will cut capacity by as much as 2% for the remainder of this month and all of October. The bankrupt carrier is attempting to negotiate a contract deal with pilots but the two sides appear far from agreement. While pilots have said they will not strike, American is reporting high levels of sick calls and last-minute mechanical issues being written up by pilots, causing the delays and cancellations.
The upheaval is changing airport traffic patterns. American is rebooking some passengers onto other airlines and is consolidating passengers in fewer flights. The delays, however, are causing longer dwell times for many passengers.
David Magaé±a, senior manager of public affairs at Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW), said that there has been “little or no impact on concessions and other revenues” due to American’s actions.
“AA has managed to cancel flights and move passengers to other flights in
such a way that there has been little to no drop in the number of
passengers we see at DFW, and with the same number of passengers, the
level of revenue at DFW remains the same,” Magaé±a said in an email.
But Matt King, president of Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, said his company has seen a modest impact, mainly at DFW and at Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS).He noted that concessions sales have been negatively impacted from canceled flights, but flight delays are causing increased dwell times, thus higher spending.
“The lost revenue from the cancellations is still a little bit greater than the gain in revenue from the delayed flights,” King said. “It is causing some pain.” The company has not altered its staffing or operational practices in light of the situation.
American Airlines was responsible for more than 19% of canceled domestic flights over the week to September 26, with 323 cancellations in the US, according to FlightStats.com. The carrier also accounted for more than 17% of domestic flight delays, with 4,494 delayed flights. And American’s top hub, DFW, led the field of airports in canceled and delayed flights, according to FlightStats.com.
