Airlines bet on big December after Covid variant setback

DALLAS (AP) — Airlines are planning for a big December, believing that the recent surge in a highly contagious COVID-19 variant is fading and that holiday travel will soar.

The carriers say that even after encouraging thousands of employees to quit during the height of the pandemic, they will be able to handle the holiday load.

But in an ominous note, Southwest Airlines reported Thursday that it lost $75 million due to a blizzard of flight cancellations this month — disruptions that started with bad weather in Florida but cascaded out of control because of staffing problems. The airline trimmed its schedule and believe it has fixed the problem.

The airlines are also contending with rising fuel costs and the expense of hiring more employees. Southwest predicted it will lose money in the fourth quarter.

American Airlines struggled with widespread delays early this summer, then brought back more pilots from leaves of absence. American said it will run nearly a full schedule, including more than 6,000 flights on some peak days during the holidays.

“We expect a lot of passengers, tremendous pent-up demand” as COVID-19 rates fall, said Robert Isom, the airline's president. “We are doing our best to make sure we have the right (employees) in the right places and the right times.”

But United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby warned this week that some airlines could face disruptions later this year because they have been slower than his company to get workers vaccinated against COVID-19, as required by a presidential order.

The comments about holiday travel came as American and Southwest reported third-quarter profits, thanks to hefty amounts of federal pandemic aid.

American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, posted a $169 million profit after collecting nearly $1 billion in taxpayer...