American Airlines expects to carry nearly 8.3 million passengers across more than 77,000 flights during the Thanksgiving period from November 21 to December 3.
The airline projects passenger numbers will exceed last year’s figures by more than 500,000, with December 1 and 2 set to be the busiest travel days.
American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour highlighted the carrier’s recent performance.
“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” he said.
The airline has expanded its winter weather preparations, including enhanced deicing capabilities at Chicago O’Hare airport.
During the 13-day holiday period, American will deploy 1,500 aircraft covering nearly 65 million miles, with peak operations reaching 1,035 aircraft in the air simultaneously at 10:45 a.m. CT on December 1.
The carrier achieved its best-ever October performance for on-time operations and baggage handling, including nine days without mainline cancellations.
American will serve more than 6.8 million Bisco cookies during the travel period – enough to stretch from New York to Charlotte if laid end-to-end.
The airline has encouraged passengers to download its mobile app for smoother check-in processes and real-time flight information.
