After an initial post-pandemic expanding recovery, we have once again seen airline flight operations contract. Some of it has been down to staffing shortages, some to technical glitches, some to strikes, and some to unexpected storms. Hoping to get ahead of any operational disruptions, American Airlines has already reduced its schedule by 16% for the busy November and Thanksgiving period.

The data, collected from aviation analytics firm Cirium by CNN, shows that the world's largest airline will operate about 31,000 fewer flights in November than previously announced. The most significant cuts are between Chicago O'Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as between Boston and Philadelphia. American Airlines has also cut a much less dramatic 2% of its September and October flights.

A spokesperson for the airline commented on the most recent schedule filing by stating, "Preliminary schedules are published 331 days in advance and then adjustments are made closer in based on the schedule we intend to operate. We are now loading schedule adjustments approximately 100 days in advance, which is in line with how we adjusted our schedule in 2019 prior to the pandemic."

Other airlines cuts very small in comparison

American's November schedule has been on a downward trajectory since April this year. At the time, the carrier was planning for about 195,700 flights for November. By late July, that figure had dropped to a little under 185,000. Now, it is down to a little below 154,000.

American Airlines is not the only US carrier to cut back on November traffic, but it is the one making the most significant cuts by far. In its latest schedule filing, Delta Air Lines reduced its schedule for the month by close to 4,400 flights, or 3.3%. United has cut just under 500, which makes up less than 1% of the schedule, and ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier cut 90 services, also accounting for less than 1%.

American has scrapped the most flights since the beginning of the year

Overall, US carriers scrapped nearly 129,000 flights between January and July this year, which is up by about 11% from pre-pandemic levels. According to Reuters, American Airlines tops the league for the half-year point with 19,717 flights, followed by budget giant Southwest Airlines with 17,381 flights. American also expects current-quarter capacity to be down by about 8% to 10% compared with pre-pandemic levels.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently commented that the air travel system in the US was "very brittle," saying that the human factor was the biggest cause for disruptions.

"Not having enough crew, especially pilots, to do the job. And airlines, of course, have an obligation to service the tickets that they sell," Buttigieg said as quoted by CNN.