Airlines continue to cut flights, furlough workers, which could impact holiday travel

Travelers will see fewer flight options next month as airlines cut flights and furlough workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There's also a lot of uncertainty about the holiday travel season.

American Airlines is cutting about half of its usual October schedule.

That will likely limit Thanksgiving and Christmas flight options.

A travel expert said getting people to their final destination this year could take more time.

Just one week after American Airlines announced it would furlough thousands of workers at the end of the month, when CARES Act money runs out, the North Texas-based carrier said it will cut 83,000 domestic flights in October.

“As the summer moved on and the pandemic worsened, we told to expect over a 50% capacity drop year over year going into the Fall,” APFA spokesperson Paul Hartshorn Jr. said.

The slash to the schedule means some customers could see their flights change.

Gabe Saglie is the senior editor at TravelZoo. He said passengers are along for the ride.

“It's really a convenience factor for folks traveling to smaller destinations or regional airports, where before, it was a one flight experience. It could be a two or three flight experience now.”

American isn't alone.

Last month Dallas-based Southwest Airlines confirmed it will cut some 35,000 flights for the month of October due to low customer demand.

And on Wednesday, United said it would cut staff as it too reduces its flight schedule.

Brandon Wilson, owner of AvidJet, disinfects a Frontier airplane with a fogger at Denver International Airport on Tuesday, May 6, 2020. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

One positive note is that all of the major U.S. carriers are waiving flight change fees.

“So that was a huge move by the airline industry to attract customers to keep that smaller base of customers happy,” Saglie said.

Saglie said it's too soon to tell how the holiday travel season will look this year due to the pandemic.

American is adding 24 seasonal routes in the new schedule. Most of the routes will operate on Saturdays.

“They're trying to match customer demand to the flight schedule, so we do see that demand has not returned as we had hoped into the Fall,” Hartshorn added.

“For the holidays, a lot of us travel to similar destination year after year, so the way we get there this year may certainly be a lot different,” Saglie said.

If you have a flight already booked for October, you should get a notification from the airline if there's been any change to the schedule.

But travelers should routinely check their itinerary just to be sure.