By Rob Wile
Delta Air Lines pilots released an open letter Thursday to customers who may be frustrated by flight delays and cancellations ahead of the summer travel season.
“We have been working on our days off, flying a record amount of overtime to help you get to your destination,” the brief says. “At current rates, by this fall, our pilots will have flown more overtime in 2022 than in all of 2018 and 2019 combined, our busiest years to date."
Delta recently announced that it was canceling about 100 daily departures from destinations in the United States and Latin America, affecting travel from July 1 to August 7.
Other airlines have taken similar steps amid ongoing staffing shortages and rising demand.
Delta aircraft parked Monday, June 13, 2022, at Salt Lake City International Airport.
AP
"If you've been on a plane lately,
planes are very crowded and airline tickets are very expensive
," Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell said Wednesday.
Airline CEOs will meet virtually with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg late Thursday to discuss their operations in the wake of delays and cancellations, people familiar with the matter told CNBC on Thursday.
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The dispute with Delta comes as the pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), tries to negotiate a new contract with the Atlanta-based carrier.
The pilots said they plan to protest at Delta's next shareholder meeting.
The landing that managed to make a passenger "could have gone wrong."
An expert pilot explains why
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"We are not happy to say to management, 'We told you so,'" Delta Capt. Jason Ambrosi, head of ALPA, said in a statement accompanying Thursday's letter.
"Pilots are mission-oriented and want to deliver industry-leading operational performance.
We've taken record amounts of overtime to help Delta through the recovery."
In a statement, Delta responded: "All of our people, including the pilots, are working hard to restore our airline and serve customers as we emerge from the pandemic. We are grateful and proud of their efforts."
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He continued, "We continually evaluate our staffing models and plan ahead so we can recover quickly when unforeseen circumstances arise, and the resilience of Delta's people is unmatched in that regard. Pilot schedules are kept in line with all the requirements established by the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as those indicated in our contract".
A Frontier flight attendant helps a mother give birth on the way from Denver to Orlando
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Kit Darby, president of KitDarby.com Aviation Consulting, LLC, recently told NBC News that airlines are struggling with booming demand that has coincided with a wave of federally mandated pilot retirements.
"It's hard to believe that we have a shortage for an $11 million career, but because of the lack of vision ... any solution is going to be three, four, five years away," Darby said.
