The crew cuts carried out by the airlines, and which intensified this summer, will cause a notable increase in the prices to fly during the holiday season that starts this week, in airports that will collapse due to a lack of ground personnel.
The Regional Airlines Association (RAA) says service has halved from pre-COVID-19 levels at 59 small and regional airports across the country, mainly due to shortages of pilots and the high cost of fuel and inflation.
Travelers move through a terminal at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Oct. 19, 2022.NurPhoto via Getty Images
As of last month, 112 of the 430 airports with scheduled passenger service in the United States had lost at least a third of their flights, according to the RAA's review of flight schedules.
“The drastic decline between 2019 and 2022 is dramatic and almost precedent-setting, which can only be matched by what happened after 9/11, 2001,” according to RAA President and CEO Faye Malarkey Black.
Americans must already pay more expensive tickets this season.
The Hopper travel platform has predicted that airfares will be the highest in the last five years during this holiday season: round-trip tickets on Thanksgiving will cost about $350 on average and Christmas tickets about $463.
The month of October confirmed the general rise in prices, after airfares suffered an increase of 43% compared to the same month of the previous year, according to the latest inflation data.
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Trips become much more expensive for those passengers who must drive long distances to catch a plane at small airports, such as Dubuque, Iowa, or Ogden, Utah, as they have to assume more expensive gasoline and a fare of larger parking lot
Hotel stays and meals before or after flying have also become more expensive.
The situation at the Ithaca Tompkins regional airport in New York is one of the most striking in the country.
For
Thanksgiving
, round-trip tickets are paid for an average of $552, 39% more than in 2019, while for Christmas it goes up to $605, 10% more than three years ago, according to Hopper.
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Airlines react differently to this situation.
United explained that it "regularly adjusts its schedule for a variety of reasons, including demand, the broader needs of our network and more," without elaborating on how it deals with staffing shortages.
American Airlines, for its part, has stopped flying to 15 cities in the country since 2020 and continues to have 100 regional planes on the ground due to a lack of pilots, according to spokeswoman Andrea Koos.
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Delta defends that it has not completely stopped flying anywhere since 2020, and that its personnel problems are similar to those suffered by the sector.
Despite this scenario, consumers continue with their plans to travel during the holidays.
This year 46% of them will do so, compared to 37% last year, according to the Deloitte Holiday Travel 2022 survey.
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Travel experts advise those looking to save money to reschedule their trips, or at least avoid the busiest days so they don't have to pay the higher fares at regional airports and major hubs.
Flying on Monday of Thanksgiving week is cheaper than flying on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Hopper.
The same happens with Christmas: it is better to avoid the days immediately before and after the celebrations to find better offers.
Experts also advise using discount coupons to park at long-term stations, book early, and explore
Park, Stay, Fly
rates to book a hotel so you can catch an early flight.
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Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Travel Tuesday are also three days that offer opportunities to find plane tickets and hotels at more reasonable prices: from promotions to discounts.
Some airports that have suffered cuts claim to be looking for a formula to recover the eliminated service.
“The loss of flights has affected businesses and educational institutions in our area,” said Roxan Noble, director of Ithaca Tompkins International Airport, who says she is in negotiations with major airlines to restore or increase their flights.
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"We are also looking for a low-cost airline to come to serve our leisure market," he revealed.
"It may not totally fill the void, but it would help."
“All airports are competing for the same planes, the same pilots and the same crews,” said Joe Cappel, vice president of business development for the Toledo-Luca County Port Authority in Ohio.
So, in addition to offering competitive incentive packages to airlines, Toledo Express Airport also offers to help new airlines with marketing and advertising right down to baggage handling.
"Everything you can think of is on the table," he acknowledged.
With information from
NBC News