If you plan on traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday, American Airlines is ready for you. All 8 million of you.
The carrier said it is expecting to host more than 8.3 million people during the Thanksgiving rush. That will be spread over 77,000 flights.
American is coming off a notable achievement last month.
“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” said David Seymour, American’s Chief Operating Officer. “When you purchase a ticket on American, you’re trusting us to provide a safe and reliable journey. We are ready to continue delivering on that promise this Thanksgiving.”
There were nine days in October when American did not cancel a single mainline flight and 10 when the airline didn’t cancel a single regional flight.
American’s Thanksgiving travel period runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than last year. The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1, with the second most-traveled day slated for Monday, December 2.
Some 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be en route at 10:45 a.m. CT on Sunday, December 1, the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.
The holiday period will be a good test for American’s initiative to halt those who violate the boarding process.
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The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating after a recent American Airlines flight dodged a nearby mountain while leaving from Hawaii.American