American Airlines extends cancellations into November

American Airlines has opted to extend its reduced schedule into November, the company announced at the weekend.

Travel Insurance News - 15/10/2012

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American Airlines has opted to extend its reduced schedule into November, the company announced at the weekend.

Officials from the Texas-based airline said that around 1 per cent of all flights would be cancelled through the first two weeks of November as the firm continues to battle punctuality woes amid its ongoing bankruptcy recovery effort.

The figure works out to about 31 of the 3,500 American Airlines flights operates per day, according to reports.

The news follows an announcement from American Airlines’ parent firm AMR Corp last month that said the airline was cutting flights through October to compensate for non-union pilot protests. Shortly thereafter, the company had said it would cut sales by 2 per cent through November.

The move comes amid an encouraging improvement in on-time performance for the airline, which came despite a number of additional non-labour setbacks suffered early this month.

Spokesman Matt Miller said on behalf of the carrier that the change was a “proactive step” toward returning to the level of on-time performance expected by customers.

Meanwhile, AMR continues to face resistance from employees amid cost-cutting efforts following its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. Last month, the airline was given the green light by US federal authorities to negate current pilot contracts, prompting industrial action.

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