MIAMI (NewsNation Now) — The pandemic is on the wane and more Americans are ready to spend some of the cash they’ve been hoarding to do some serious traveling. That makes news from American Airlines that it’s going to have to cut back on international flights this summer truly unwelcome.
The problem is planes. American ordered a batch of the much-troubled Dreamliners 787s from Boeing, and due to defects and necessary repairs, the planes won’t be ready to fly on time. Since international travel is usually booked far ahead of time and flight crews take more coordination than for domestic flights, American is having to make the decision now to cut schedules.
A total of 13 new Dreamliners were supposed to be ready this winter, with more coming next year, but now that entire delivery schedule has been disrupted.
In all, American is having to cut almost 10 percent of its overseas flights while Boeing fixes the planes, which thanks to the labor shortage is taking a bit longer than usual.
Flights to cities in Europe like Berlin, Edinburgh, Budapest and Prague are being scuttled. And if your summer plans include a trip to South America, you’d better book your flights to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo and Santiago now, as those are also expected to face some cuts.
As production schedules are resolved and the kinks in the Dreamliner manufacturing are worked out, the situation will improve, but for now the best advice is too book early.