Airline News: Top Air Travel Stories From April
Airlines — Never a Dull Moment
What a month.
And, no, despite what the first day of April often signifies, the biggest story of the month – and the year, so far – was no joke.
A judge in Florida struck down the federal transportation mask mandate, a major development in the airline industry and yet a polarizing one at the same time.
The Biden Administration said it would appeal the ruling but, as of publication date of this story, no decision has been made by a higher court.
Here’s a look at airline headlines from the month of April 2022.
Delays, Cancellations Mar Spring Break
It was not a good start to the month as the first weekend of April brought more than 10,000 delays and cancellations. Limited staffing was part of the problem but huge weather issues, especially in Florida, meant several airlines had issues moving their crews around to be in the proper place.
A Silver Lining
Despite all those delays and cancellations, the Transportation Security Administration reported traffic numbers that were at 95 percent of what capacity was on the same April opening weekend in 2019.
JetBlue Makes Offer for Spirit
If the mask mandate was the biggest airline story of the month and year so far, this was a close second – and maybe more shocking. Barely a month after Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines had agreed to merge and create the nation’s fifth-largst carrier, JetBlue came in with an offer to acquire Spirit for $700 million more in an all-cash deal. Spirit is still pondering both deals.
American Airlines Starts Bus Service
In what quickly became a trend that spread to other carriers, American Airlines on April 7 started offering motorcoach bus service from smaller, regional airports that were close enough to drive to its bigger hubs. Again, a move precipitated by a pilot shortage.
FAA Seeks Largest Fines Ever
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was going to financial penalize violent passengers, and it wasn’t kidding. On April 9 the agency proposed its biggest fines ever, totaling $160,000 against just two passengers.
JetBlue Offers Attendance Bonus
JetBlue, looking to get ahead of what is anticipated to be a big spring and summer travel season, offered its flight attendants bonuses for perfect attendance in order to meeting staffing demands.
No-Fly List is Drafted
A bipartisan Congressional group on April 10 drafted legislation to create a national No-Fly List for extremely violent passengers. The list would bar passengers from getting on a plane for any airline.
Southwest Union Says Pilots are Fatigued
Citing Southwest Airlines’ haphazard scheduling system – some of it brought on by staffing shortages and weather-related issues that prevents crews from getting into the proper locations – the airlines’ pilots union on April 13 sent a letter to new CEO Robert Jordan saying the pilots are suffering from fatigue.
British Airways Trims Loading Luggage
Once again, staffing shortages plague an airline. British Airlines told baggage handlers the week of April 16 not to put bags on short-haul flights and to concentrate on long-haul trips to keep to the airline’s schedule. BA told customers it would send their bags to them at their final destination “a few days” after arrival.
American Resumes In-Flight Alcohol Service
American Airlines on April 18 resumed its in-flight alcohol service on flights longer than 250 miles. Like many carriers, American had stopped serving booze during the pandemic and in the wake of the thousands of onboard incidents involving unruly passengers.
Judge Ends Mask Mandate
Just as the Biden Administration had extended the federal transportation mask mandate for two more weeks until May 3, a federal judge in Tampa, Fla., said, “Nope.” Ruling on April 19 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not have that kind of authority to make such a mandate, the judge lifted the order.
Delta to Allow Passengers Banned for Mask Violations to Fly
Delta Air Lines had been the pandemic leader among airlines that banned passengers who violated the federal transportation mask mandate. But just two days after the judge’s ruling lifting the mandate, Delta said it would allow any passenger it previously banned to fly with the airline again.,
Pilot Shortage Could Take Years to Overcome
Late in the month, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby addressed the pilot shortage during the company’s quarterly earnings call. It wasn’t pretty. Kirby said the shortage is so severe, it would take at least five years for the industry to catch up to normal staffing.
Delta Makes Concession to Flight Attendants
The norm in the airline industry is that flight attendants don’t start drawing their hourly salary until the plane doors are shut, no matter how long they work the boarding process. In an effort to possibly stave off efforts by their flight attendants to unionize, Delta on April 26 told the group it would start paying them for boarding the plane.