American Airlines expects to welcome more than 7.8 million customers — a record for the airline — during the Thanksgiving travel period, which runs from November 16 to November 28. This holiday travel period will be the airline’s busiest ever and comes as American has been running the most reliable operation of any U.S. network carrier for the past 14 months. That includes the summer 2023 travel period, when American led its major network competitors in completion factor and on-time departures.

A track record of strong operational performance

Heading into the holiday season, American has been running an industry-leading operation, serving the most customers with the industry’s largest flight schedule. Key to American’s success has been the team’s ability to get the airline’s operation back on track when weather or other conditions impact operations. During severe weather and other disruptions, American has been recovering faster than its competition, minimizing impact to the airline’s customers. That was especially true this summer despite a significant uptick in severe weather, which took place during 70% of the peak summer schedule. In that same period, American led its major network competitors in completion factor and on-time departures.

Leaning into operational technology

American’s operation is also benefiting from years of planning and investment in decision-support and machine-learning tools that ensure the airline can get customers on their way faster. These tools include our Hub Efficiency Analytics Tool (HEAT), which enables American to adjust our operation around severe weather and smart gating, which reduces taxi times at our largest hubs.

American’s Thanksgiving operation