![]() “The primary driver for our performance right now is the shortage of pilots we have available to fly versus what was planned when we built our April schedule in January.” John Ladner, Alaska’s vice president of flight operations, wrote in a Friday email to pilots. “Our operational performance today was below the level many of us expect,” Capt. “I don’t think I’ll be flying Alaska again,” she said.Īn internal Alaska Air memo Friday indicated the reasons for the chaos. Pollock said she normally flies United but chose Alaska because of a bargain first-class ticket price. And Pollock said both the airline’s online chat option and its text option were unavailable “due to volume.” Given the estimated hold time, that was impossible. ![]() She’s expecting a refund for the hotel cost from Alaska, but the reservations agent said she had to talk to customer service about that. On Saturday, the three were stuck for the 34-hour delay in a hotel at LAX, which Pollock paid for. To get Pollock and her two teenagers home together, the best Alaska could offer was a 6 p.m. The airline was able to put her husband, who needed to get back for work, on a United flight to Chicago on Saturday. flight home to Chicago through San Francisco was canceled.Īfter repeated calling, Pollock eventually got through to Alaska’s reservations line. Saturday after notification that their 8 a.m. Kelly Pollock, with her family on a spring break trip to Disneyland, heard the same dispiriting 10-hour hold message when she called customer service at 5:30 a.m. “We really need to know so we can plan,” said Case. When 90-year-old Dorothy Case called Alaska’s customer service line Saturday, a recorded message told her to expect a hold time of “more than 10 hours.”Īnxious about her scheduled flight from Tucson, Arizona, to Seattle on Wednesday, which requires synchronizing complicated family arrangements, Case wants to find out if it’s still on but couldn’t reach the airline. However, those desperate for support by phone were out of luck.Īlaska is short-staffed throughout its operation, with shortages of not only pilots but also flight attendants and call-center representatives. “We also work with guests on a case-by-case basis to care for their specific needs.” “When we can’t accommodate them on Alaska, we have relationships with other airlines to help get them to their destination where possible,” she said. “We are also doing our best to notify guests whose travel is impacted as early as possible.” “Re-accommodation may include a later flight or an alternate route,” said Rudin. “We know the sudden cancellation of their travel plans is frustrating - we apologize to all of our guests who we let down,” read a statement posted on the airline’s website. “This situation will continue to improve as we resolve those impacts over the next couple days.”Ĭonstance von Muehlen, Alaska’s chief operating officer, said in a statement Saturday the airline is “doing everything we can” to support affected passengers.Īlaska said it was notifying passengers and doing what it could to get them to their destinations as quickly as possible. “A significant portion of today’s cancels are clean up from the cancels yesterday that displaced aircraft and crews,” she wrote. carriers.ĭespite the ongoing problem, Alaska spokesperson Alexa Rudin said via email that the major travel disruption this weekend should ease in the next few days. ![]() Alaska, currently in an increasingly bitter standoff with the union representing its pilots over a new contract, has lost dozens of pilots this year to other major U.S. With pilots now so in demand, they can choose where to work more easily. However, Alaska has been hit worse than most. airline is facing the impacts of a national pilot shortage, brought on by reductions in staffing during the pandemic and a quicker than expected rebound in air travel this year. On Friday, the airline canceled 68 flights at Sea-Tac and more than 120 overall, affecting at least 15,300 travelers.Įvery U.S. The airline had previously canceled 92 flights on Saturday, with another 18 flights significantly delayed by what officials said was a mix of weather, mechanical and “other standard issues.”Īt Sea-Tac on Saturday, the airline canceled 27 departures and 32 arriving flights were canceled. Sunday’s cancellations included 32 flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. SEATTLE - Alaska Airlines canceled 73 flights Sunday, an increase over its predictions from earlier, with more than 9,800 passengers affected as a pilot shortage continues to impact the air carrier’s business.Ĭancellations were continuing on Monday, according to FlightAware, including a handful to and from airports in Alaska. Travelers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport check the status of flights, including those canceled, on displays inside a gate terminal, Friday, Apin Seattle. ![]()
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