American and United cut spring flights due to pilot shortage, aircraft delays

Come June, Erie, Pa., will be a one airline town. United Airlines will end flights to the community on the shores of the lake of the same name leaving American Airlines as the community’s sole air carrier, a shift that comes as airlines struggle to recover and grow their schedules in a constrained market. The cause for the Erie suspension, as a spokesperson for Chicago-based United put it, is the well-documented US pilot shortage affecting primarily regional carriers. But pilots are not the only issue. Continuing aircraft delivery delays at Airbus and Boeing have also hamstrung airline schedules; the latest example being American’s decision to suspend flights between Philadelphia and Madrid in May and June due to late Boeing 787 deliveries, The Wall Street Journal reported. And the Federal Aviation Administration has suspended usage rules for 10 percent of slots at airports in New York and Washington, D.C., this summer due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. The rule suspension allows airlines to reduce their schedules at restricted airports without fear of losing their valuable landing and takeoff rights. “The operation is getting more challenged as we start to move into the peaker parts of the schedule,” United CEO Scott Kirby said earlier in March. He has previously described the industry as ill-prepared for the post-pandemic operational realities. The situation has forced US airlines to cut capacity from their spring and summer schedules. The industry has shaved more than 3 percentage points from its second quarter capacity plans since January, according to data from TD Cowen and Diio by Cirium. Industry capacity is now scheduled up 3% compared to Q2 2019. Hawaiian Airlines reduced its scheduled Q2 capacity by 7% in March compared to January, United by 6%, and American by 4%.<br/>