American Airlines Warns of Further Schedule Changes

American Airlines, which last month cut 31,000 flights from its November schedule, is warning its customers that there could be additional route changes this winter.

The Dallas-based carrier is planning to publish its winter schedule within the coming days, and Brian Znotins, the vice president of network planning at American said flyers should consider the possibility of further adjustments.

“We’re trying to fly as much as our operation can support. We don’t want to overextend ourselves again,” Znotins said on the airline’s dedicated podcast, according to Yahoo. “Sometimes we just don’t know which flights we will and we will not operate because we don’t know how many airplanes and pilots and mechanics and ground staff we will have to support the schedule.”

That’s been an issue all spring and summer, however. Virtually every airline was caught short-staffed, which led to massive delays and cancellations. Airlines strive to set schedules far in advance, even resorting to what Znotins called a “placeholder schedule,” to give customers a chance to make plans. Changes are usually made about 100 days prior to the flight.

But that hasn’t been the case this year.

And that creates a bigger problem for the winter when many people travel around Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, and other major winter holidays.

Travelers are concerned about making plans that might fall through, and just as concerned they might not be able to re-book a holiday flight or even switch to a new airline.

“It’s a little concerning because I don’t want to lose any options that I have,” said Melissa Barto, a resident of North Carolina here American maintains at hub in Charlotte.