Airlines answer congested airports and rising costs with larger planes

NEWARK, New Jersey – Faced with congested airports, rising costs, pilot shortages and a resurgence in travel demand, airlines are increasingly turning to the identical solution: larger planes that hold more passengers.

Flights operated by America’s 11 largest airlines averaged greater than 153 seats on domestic flights last yr, up from a mean of nearly 141 seats in 2017, in accordance with aviation data firm Cirium. In April, US carriers have 0.6% more seats on their domestic schedules in comparison with the identical month of 2019, despite operating 10.6% fewer flights.

The trend towards larger planes, a part of a method known within the industry as “upgauging”, means airlines can sell more seats on each flight and accept fewer planes which might be briefly supply. While more passengers per plane lowers an airline’s unit cost, it means fewer flight options for consumers.

For example, United Airlines said its flights have 20 more seats per departure in full mesh than in 2019.

Rodney Cox, United’s vice chairman of airport operations on the carrier’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, told CNBC last month that it was finding it difficult to extend the variety of flights it served to and from the airport, one among the most important within the country most crowded.

“The way we proceed to develop our model and grow our business is by improving our flights,” he said.

Last month, United said it could fly wide-body aircraft on around 3,600 domestic routes. The airline also dedicated 777s, the most important aircraft in its 364-seat fleet, to fly between major hubs and Orlando, Florida throughout the spring break, a spokeswoman said.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, US airlines switched their largest jets to domestic routes as international travel was hampered by the crisis and travel restrictions. Now that international flights are back to normal, the competition for these planes has intensified.

And, as Cox identified, there are limits to the variety of flights an airline can increase, especially on the most important planes.

“Not every gate is equal,” he said. “You cannot placed on a large body [airplane] at every gate.”

The trend towards larger aircraft becomes increasingly vital during what airline management says can be a busy spring and summer with shortages of pilots, air traffic controllers and latest aircraft.

The smooth running of operations in busy Newark is crucial, said United vice chairman Cox. If planes don’t take off fast enough as planned, attributable to the limited variety of gates, “you will see it turn right into a parking zone,” he said.

Airlines and federal officials have agreed to chop flights in hopes of avoiding a repeat of flight cuts and schedule delays at busy airports serving New York and Washington this summer

Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration said it could allow airlines to limit flights at airports serving New York City and at John Paul II International Airport. Reagan in Washington to avoid disruption.

american airlines said the FAA would temporarily reduce frequencies on select routes from LaGuardia Airport and Newark this summer in response to the waiver of slots.

“We are proactively contacting affected customers to supply alternative travel solutions,” the spokeswoman said. The airline plans to maneuver aircraft from reduced frequencies to routes at its hubs at Dallas Fort/Worth International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.

United Airlines said in a Thursday statement that in response to the plan, the FAA would scale back day by day peak-hour departures in New York and Newark from 438 to 408 and reduce the variety of flights from the New York area to Washington. The carrier said it still plans to serve 5% more seats at these airports than in the identical month of 2019, and lower than 2% of shoppers were expected to be affected.

Delta AirlinesOperations chief too said the FAA the airline intends to use for exemptions that may allow it to cut back flights.

The FAA said it expects “airlines to take actions to attenuate the impact on passengers, including operating larger aircraft to hold more passengers and ensuring that passengers are fully informed of any possible disruption.”

However, some airlines are forced to change to larger planes. JetBlue Airwaysfor instance, it supports all narrow-body jets.

“We haven’t got a 70-seater automotive that we will turn right into a 150[-seater]Robin Hayes, CEO of JetBlue, told CNBC last week. “And even airlines that do which might be just taking seats from someplace else.”

Additionally, the airline doesn’t contract with regional carriers for a lot of its flights just like the larger US airlines do.

“This could have a really significant financial impact on JetBlue and our customers,” Hayes said of the reduced capability. “It’s all the time smaller communities which might be disproportionately affected.”

To help increase passengers per plane, United and other network carriers are also reducing their reliance on regional airlines, where pilot shortages are most acute and unit costs are high.

Delta said 70% of its domestic flights this yr are operated by the most important airline, down from 55% in 2019. The variety of outbound seats is up 15 from 2019, a spokesperson told CNBC.

Delta has also shifted from regional aircraft to mainstream aircraft reminiscent of the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 on traditional business routes reminiscent of Boston to Chicago, Seattle to San Francisco and Los Angeles to Las Vegas. A spokesman said it had completely eliminated regional jets in Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas, replacing them with larger planes.

Some major airlines have suspended service to some small airports, citing pilot shortages at regional airlines. American last yr left cities including Dubuque, Iowa, and recently United said it could stop flying to Erie, Pennsylvania, in June. Delta also said it can temporarily discontinue service to State College, Pennsylvania, and La Crosse, Wisconsin, later this month.

Reducing regional flights instead of mainline flights “can halve departure options for travelers, which implies long connecting flights and longer journey times and price burdens, but it might also mean that one previously served city can not be served,” said Faye Malarkey. Black, president and CEO of the Regional Airlines Association.

“This is one more pity for small communities that haven’t got passengers to fill larger planes,” she said.

— CNBC Gabriel Cortes contributed to this text.