The upcoming ten-day holiday session between Christmas and New Year's Day is projected to be the busiest ever, with approximately 7.5 million people expected to fly within the U.S. United Airlines, one of the major airlines, is anticipating this to be the most bustling travel period ever for them, as well.
United Airlines' Executive Vice President of Communications reassures that the company is set to handle the anticipated surge of passengers. According to him, 'The planes are going to be full and we're flying big schedules over the holidays because we know a lot of people want to travel. But we are better prepared for this than we have ever been in our history.'
United Airlines has made substantial investments in technology to ensure a smoother travel experience for the passengers. The company has encouraged passengers to utilize the United app, which they believe is the cheat code for a hassle-free journey. In addition to this, the airline has also increased its staffing and ramped up employee training to handle the projected masses over the holiday season.
However, a significant worry for travellers is the anticipated weather conditions which caused a massive cancellation of flights during the previous Christmas season. The company assures it is better geared this time around, using hundreds of de-icing trucks system-wide, along with advanced employee training to keep the planes moving despite inclement weather. Moreover, the airline has begun leveraging AI to provide passengers with more clarity regarding their travel journey in case of disruptions due to weather or other situations.
A persisting challenge, however, revolves around the shortage of air traffic controllers. According to Scott Kirby, United Airlines is operating under a shortfall of nearly 3,000 traffic controllers which poses a potential hurdle for air travel operations. This is more pronounced in cities like New York, which already operates under the most congested airspace globally. It’s expected that the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill will address the hiring and training of new air traffic controllers as a long-term structural challenge. The airline is splitting its effort between its operational tweaks and rallying in Congress to expedite legislation around fixing the controller shortage problem.
