Airlines prep for Memorial Day; JetBlue won't back down for Spirit

May 22—MIAMI and CHEYENNE — Your bags are packed, tickets are in hand and you're ready to go. Will disruption-plagued airlines be able to avoid a spate of delays and cancellations?

"I don't think they are able to handle the crowds," said Clint Henderson, managing editor of The Points Guy, a consumer advice guide for airline travelers. "What we're seeing is a drumbeat of delays and cancellations. It's already busy out there and it's expected to get busier in the summer. The airlines, airports, hotels and car rental companies are not staffed for that demand. I do think you're going to see more meltdowns."

Labor unions representing airline workers assert the nation's carriers are still falling short of seamlessly serving a public eager to return to the skies after being cooped up by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here in Florida, the problem has been particularly acute during major holiday weekends.

Last Wednesday, the head of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 64,000 cockpit crew members in the U.S. and Canada, ripped the airlines for accepting billions of dollars in federal government aid to keep their networks aloft, only to fall short when consumer demand rebounded.

"Over the last three years, the U.S. government, American taxpayers, airline labor, and company managements have risen to the challenge of the pandemic," Joe Depete, ALPA president, told a meeting of the union's executive board in Washington. "After securing federal aid on a scale no other industry received, some airlines' failure to plan for recovery threatens to cost our industry the comeback."

As for the forthcoming weekend traffic, an American Airlines spokeswoman from Miami said the airline expects to average more than 5,700 departures system-wide between May 26 and 30.

In an email, Southwest Airlines said that in a bid to buttress reliability during the spring and summer, the airline increased its system headcount by approximately 3,300 in first quarter of this year after factoring in previous employee departures. The airline said it plans to hire approximately 10,000 employees in 2022.

"Southwest also previously adjusted its published flight schedules for June through August 2022 to provide additional buffer to the operation this summer," said the airline.

Other U.S. carriers did not respond before the close of business Friday.

Henderson of The Points Guy believes the airlines' performance this Memorial Day will be a good indicator of what's to come for the summer.

"We'll get a good sense as to how the airlines are handling the crowds," he said. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be an interesting summer."

Battle for Spirit

Separately last week, Spirit Airlines said its board of directors recommended its shareholders reject JetBlue Airways' unsolicited bid to buy all of the discount carrier's stock.

"In its comprehensive analysis, the Board determined that the JetBlue transaction faces substantial regulatory hurdles, especially while the Northeast Alliance ("NEA") with American Airlines remains in effect, and is, as a result, not reasonably capable of being consummated and is not superior to Spirit's agreed merger transaction with Frontier," Spirit said in a Thursday news release.

JetBlue responded by slamming the directors of the company it seeks to take over.

"The Spirit Board, driven by serious conflicts of interest, continues to ignore the best interests of its shareholders by distorting the facts to distract from their flawed process and protect their inferior deal with Frontier," JetBlue said in its own announcement. "Regarding regulatory approval, Spirit would have you ignore the current regulatory climate to think that approval of their Frontier deal is assured."

Frontier is based in Denver, and had previously agreed to combine with Spirit.

"We are working with Spirit to complete our merger and create a true nationwide ultra-low fare airline to compete against the dominant 'Big Four' airlines and other high-cost airlines, including JetBlue. Together, we will super-charge the ultra-low-cost carrier model," said Frontier CEO Barry Biffle in a separate announcement.

Suggestions

If passengers are faced with a long delay or cancellation, Henderson and his colleagues recommend that you respond quickly, research your options and make a decision for alternate travel.

Some ideas:

— In advance, learn what flights are available aboard other airlines along the route you intend to travel. "You should know before you go what carriers are operating on that route," Henderson said. You can track and check the status of flights through the online FlightAware or Flight Radar 24 tracking sites.

— On your phone, download the airlines' apps for a quick reference tool. If a flight gets canceled, you may be able to rebook yourself.

— Check with your airline's gate agent for revised flight times. Don't rely solely on electronic boards in the terminal.

— If your flight gets canceled you can go to the re-ticketing line. While doing that, go on the app to see if they have a rebooking option and message the airline about your situation on Twitter.

— Reimbursements: Certain credit cards offered by Chase and American Express (which charge significant annual fees) have trip delay coverage.

— Refunds: Don't settle for a voucher from an airline for future travel. Under federal rules, you are entitled to cash.

Jonathan Make is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's assistant managing editor and editor of the Wyoming Business Report. He can be reached at jmake@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3129. Follow him on Twitter @makejdm.