Isabella Courchesne was about to enjoy an Italian sub at New York’s LaGuardia Airport when she received an alert familiar to many Fourth of July travelers: Her flight was delayed. Courchesne was trying to spend a weekend baking and shopping with family in Cleveland. She stayed patient after seeing about 15 flight cancellations on the airport departures board before her own Delta Air Lines flight was canceled and rescheduled 24 hours later. A $15 food voucher from the airline was nice, she said, but the 21-year-old still wondered if she would make it home — or be stuck eating sweets at LaGuardia. “Nothing at LaGuardia Airport costs $15, but it was better than nothing,” Courchesne, who works at a D.C. consulting firm on K Street, told the Washington Post. “I went and got a bunch of Jolly Ranchers. I figured $15 would cover three family-sized packages, and that’s exactly what happened.” As tens of millions of Americans are expected to fly or drive over the Fourth of July weekend, many are facing summer travel that has been slowed by flight delays and cancellations and made more expensive by high fuel prices. The estimated 47.9 million travelers in the United States between Friday and Monday represent an increase of nearly 4 percent, compared to last year, according to AAA – approaching the level of summer travel not seen in the country before the coronavirus pandemic. While the bulk of those travelers will be on the road, more than 3.5 million are expected to be on planes, that is if their flights aren’t delayed or canceled. More than 3,800 flights in, to or from the United States were delayed by late Saturday afternoon, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Southwest Airlines reported 715 delayed flights on Saturday, representing 20 percentage of its total trips, the figures show. American Airlines reported 643 delayed flights, representing 20% of its total trips. Delta had 368 delayed flights, good for 13% of the airline’s trips, according to FlightAware. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport led Saturday’s delays among U.S. airports, followed by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. More than 2,200 flights Saturday were canceled, according to FlightAware. American, Delta and United Airlines lead US carriers in cancellations on Saturday. Flight cancellations are stressing weary travelers as the Fourth of July approaches The holiday break comes at a time when the airline industry has pledged to refocus on reliability. While weather has always been a problem for airlines, staff shortages during the pandemic have further hampered carriers’ ability to recover from delays. Several unions representing airline workers have spoken out and staged demonstrations to draw attention to worker pressure. On Thursday, more than 1,200 Delta pilots and staff held protests at several airports stretching from New York to Los Angeles to demand higher wages. On Saturday, the Allied Pilots Association, the union for American Airlines, said a glitch in the scheduling software the night before had allowed pilots to walk off the job, potentially canceling more than 12,000 flights for the month. The airline said the “vast majority of affected journeys” had been restored and there was no expected impact on flights. Analysts at travel booking app Hopper forecast domestic airfare to average $437 per round-trip ticket, up 45 percent, compared to 2019. Some of the most popular destinations in the U.S. this weekend include Las Vegas , Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles and Miami, Hopper says. “The volume of travelers we expect to see on Independence Day is a clear sign that summer travel is off to a strong start,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, in a press release. “People are ready for a break, and despite the fact that things cost more, they’re finding ways to take the vacations they need.” But air travel problems continue, despite US airlines receiving billions in pandemic relief funds to keep workers on the job. When Americans were ready to fly again, the expectation was that airlines would be ready for them, especially in what has been called by some the year of the “revenge trip.” More than 2.46 million people were screened last Sunday by Transportation Security Administration officers, the highest volume since February 11, 2020. Welcome to summer travel. It’s hell. But tens of thousands of combined delays and cancellations marred travelers celebrating the busy June 10 and Father’s Day weekends last month. Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration have blamed each other for disrupting air travel. Flight cancellations mark Father’s Day, the June 10th travel weekend The debate over the efficiency of air travel intensified this week when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation to “fine airlines $55,000 per passenger for every flight cancellation who know it cannot be fully staffed. “ “The American people are sick and tired of airlines scrapping them, canceling flights at the last minute and delaying flights for hours,” Sanders tweeted. Buttigieg, who called on the airline industry to “deliver” for the American people, recounted Saturday that his own connecting flight was canceled on Friday. In a series of tweets, Buttigieg said travelers should be “entitled to a cash refund when your flight is cancelled.” “At first, the airline offered 2,500 miles, which I estimate is worth about $30. But I requested a refund for the canceled portion and it came out to $112.07,” Buttigieg wrote. “Airlines offer miles as compensation for certain travel issues and you can often negotiate this. This is between you and the airline. However, you are entitled to cash refunds for canceled flights — this is a requirement we will continue to enforce.” Travelers in Frankfurt, Germany and London faced long delays and baggage pile-ups on July 1 as airlines struggled to manage “high passenger numbers”. (Video: The Washington Post) While airline passengers face reliability issues, millions who travel by road are still struggling with what to pay at the pump. The national average price for a gallon of natural gas is $4.82 as of Saturday, according to AAA, which is down slightly from Friday’s average of $4.84. Ten states and the District of Columbia have average prices of $5 or more. At an average of $6.25 a gallon, California still leads the nation in fuel costs. AAA estimates 42 million people will drive this weekend. Even with high fuel prices, the agency notes that Americans may feel more in control of their arrival by driving rather than flying. “Car travel provides a level of convenience and flexibility that people may be looking for given the recent challenges with flying,” Twidale said. Courchesne admits she’s one of the lucky ones, and not just because Delta helped fund the Jolly Rancher. After initially being told her trip would be delayed about 28 hours, she said a Delta service desk employee was able to book her on a late Friday night flight to Cleveland. She’s looking forward to spending time with her grandmother and celebrating some family birthdays, but it won’t be long. She’s already thinking about her return flight to Washington on Monday — one that includes another stop at LaGuardia. “I’m trying to do the fireworks in DC,” he said. “Hopefully it will be a little smoother coming back, but I’m not really planning on it.” Lori Aratani, Hannah Sampson, James Bikales and Meryl Kornfield contributed to this report.
