A shortage of pilots from retirements and pandemic cutbacks has forced Fort Worth-based American Airlines to park about 100 of its smaller regional jets, even amid strong summer passenger demand.
“There is a supply and demand imbalance right now and it really is within the regional carrier ranks,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Friday at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions investor conference in New York. “We have probably 100 aircraft or almost 100 aircraft that aren’t productive right now, that aren’t flying.”
Isom’s comments come amid soaring airfare prices as travelers are eager to get out after two years of pandemic restrictions and as airlines work to get back to pre-pandemic flying levels. Nearly every airline in the industry is facing similar issues with struggles to replace pilots and other key workers, even though several are forecasting record revenues.
