American Airlines Cancelled 14% Of Their Flights March 26, 2008
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Last Updated: April 24, 2008
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American Airlines announced today that they will cut 14% of their flights. Cancellations affect only the MD-80 aircraft. "The MD-80 is American Airlines' major work horse," says Tom Parsons, CEO of BestFares.com. "American Airlines has a fleet size of approximately 670 aircraft.
 The MD-80 represents almost half of American's fleet, consisting of more than 300 MD-80 aircraft," adds Parsons.
The MD-80 aircraft was first introduced in 1980 by McDonnell Douglas which was bought by Boeing in 1997. The last MD-80 aircraft were delivered to TWA on December 21, 1999. American Airlines bought bankrupt TWA in April, 2001.
The primary reason for today's cancellations is whether or not a bundle of wires was installed and secured according to Federal Aviation Administration directions. American expected to complete all of their inspections by the end of the day today. As the inspections are completed, most of the planes will be returned to service on a rolling basis throughout the day. Carriers have come under increased scrutiny since Southwest Airlines had to ground many of their flights on March 12, 2008.
The biggest airports affected by cancellations are Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago. As of 8:00 a.m., American Airlines had cancelled 161 flights out of 452 scheduled. At Dallas/Fort Worth, American's number one hub, American had cancelled 41 of 65 flights, or 63%. At Chicago's O'Hare American cancelled 34 of 42 flights, or 81%.
"Passengers holding tickets on American Airlines that are booked on an MD-80 would be wise to check with American to determine if their flight is one of the 300 plus flights cancelled", stated Parsons.
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