American Airlines Delivers Record-Breaking Thanksgiving Operation

American Airlines produced a record-setting Thanksgiving operation for the airline — including getting more customers than ever to their Thanksgiving tables, while canceling fewer flights to date than any other Thanksgiving in its history.

”Millions of customers were counting on us to connect them with their families, friends and loved ones this Thanksgiving — and we delivered,” said David Seymour, American’s Chief Operating Officer. “The trust our customers place in us every day, but especially during the holidays, is something we don’t take for granted, and I could not be prouder of the team for delivering a safe, reliable and successful operation this Thanksgiving. We look forward to carrying this momentum into the December holidays.”

American’s Thanksgiving operational highlights

• American has welcomed nearly 6.5 million customers on more than 59,000 flights so far this Thanksgiving holiday, with our highest-ever load factor for these dates. Our travel period concludes at the end of the day tomorrow.
• To date, American has canceled fewer flights than any other Thanksgiving period in its history. From Nov. 16–26, the airline has canceled only 55 out of more than 59,400 scheduled flights — just 0.09% of our schedule, with nearly all the cancellations weather-related.
• American went nine days (Nov. 16–24) without canceling a single mainline flight.
• Our Chicago O’Hare (ORD) operation ran smoothly yesterday despite the snowstorm, with no cancellations associated with the hub.
• These results are thanks to American’s 130,000 team members who worked safely and tirelessly over the holiday period, along with great support from our partners at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).