American Airlines Expecting above 8M Passengers Over Thanksgiving

Written by

Alex Achille

in

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Thanksgiving is by far the busiest and most critical time for US based carriers. We all remember the chaos of the Southwest meltdown and how it affected millions of travelers and their plans. Having everything run smoothly over this period is of paramount importance. It can make or break the balance sheet and even more importantly a carrier’s reputation. With Thanksgiving just around the corner American Airlines has given us some insights regarding what it expects this season will bring.

American Airlines Expects Over 8 Million Passengers over Thanksgiving

If you find yourself not knowing what to do on November 28th, try checking out flightradar24 and see how the sky over the US lights up like a Christmas tree. Thanksgiving get almost every American traveling to visit family or loved ones. Reason why this is such a huge occasion even for airlines. If everything runs smoothly then the tickets sell themselves, but if things get bumpy it can easily become a PR nightmare.

With the holiday period just about to start, American Airlines has released what it expects from Thanksgiving 2024. Not to get ahead of myself here, but the numbers are quite impressive. AA expects to:

  • Operate over 77,000 flights from November 21st to December 3rd.
  • Welcome aboard over 8.3 million passengers, with a 500,000 increase over the prior year.
  • Have up to 1,035 mainline and regional planes en-route.

Also the airline expects to have its busiest days on Sunday December 1st with more than 6,500 flights followed closely by Monday December 2nd.

American Airlines Boeing 777-200 taking off with the blue sky in the background. An airline that now shares its American Airlines Advantage loyalty program with Fiji Airways.
American Airlines Boeing 777-200 during takeoff phase.

Extra Staffing For an Extra Busy Time of The Year

How is the airline preparing for showtime? It has been investing in hiring and training ahead of such a critical time for its business. Late November along with bringing in the Thanksgiving season also brings in some cold weather with possibly the first heavy snowfalls in certain regions of the country.

Therefore American Airlines has reported it has trained extra staff at key and bad weather high risk areas to cope with the possible increase in deicing demand.

With still a lot of work to be done on the international side of the business American Airlines must deliver during domestic peak seasonalities to make its balance sheet add up properly.

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Alex Achille

Ex Emirates Cabin Crew and long time aviation enthusiast. I can remember loving aviation and planes since I was a very little boy. I have developed my passion into a deep knowledge of the sector and industry to offer on my sites in depth and precise analyses of what is going on. I also completed cabin crew training with Ryanair, however, I never worked for the company (more on that another time). Finally I also have taken flying lessons completing my first solo flights.