Ex-Spirit Airlines CEO: Overscheduling During Uncertain Times Contributed to the Holiday Disruptions

Ex-Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza expressed his opinion on Monday on recent flight cancelations and delays during the holiday period. For the ex-Spirit Airlines CEO, overscheduling played a role in the recent holiday disruptions.

Baldanza said that “the people who designed the schedule and decide how much to fly, aren’t as well-connected as they need to be to the operations team” Baldanza believes that “coordination just needs to get greater”. He commented that airlines had a good Thanksgiving, thinking that airlines may have learned something from last summer’s disruptions.

Baldanza thinks that “you realize they still haven’t linked those operations up with schedule planners quite well enough yet”.

Winter Storm and Staffing Shortages

Winter and storm on the East Coast made it worse for airlines on Monday. It exacerbated worker shortages related to the spread of the omicron variant. On Monday, 2,900 US flights were canceled and 4,200 delayed flights.

JetBlue “proactively” canceled almost 1,300 flights until January 13. In a statement, it said that “Like many businesses and organizations, we have seen a surge in the number of sick calls from Omicron”. It added that “To give our customers as much notice possible to make alternate plans and reaccomodate them on other flights, we are proactively reducing our schedule through January 13”.

Airlines did what they can to prevent worker shortages during the busy holiday period. Airlines offered incentives for their workers to avoid absences. United offered as much as triple pay to their pilots. On the other hand, Spirit Airlines had a deal with the Association of Flight Attendants. Spirit Airlines offered double pay for their cabin crew according to the union’s spokesperson on Tuesday.

Rebooking Woes

Airlines generally rebook travelers. However, there are instances when travelers will have to wait for the next day. If a traveler doesn’t like their rebooking options, it is possible to reach your airline for other viable options.

If your airline canceled your flight, then you are eligible for a refund. And according to the Department of Transportation rules, travelers are eligible for a refund and not just a travel credit. This is true regardless of the type of ticket you have.