American Airlines is gearing up for its busiest summer yet at Philadelphia International Airport, and it’s making major moves to keep pace, reports Emma Dooling for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The carrier, which dominates PHL with roughly 67 percent of the market share, is set to operate approximately 41,000 flights between May 21 and Sept. 8, a 10 percent jump from last summer.
Zoom out to the full May-through-September window and the numbers get even bigger: more than 52,600 departures with 6.3 million seats available, according to aviation analytics platform Cirium.
To handle the surge and the wave of visitors expected for events like the World Cup, American brought on around 200 permanent employees at PHL, filling customer-facing roles and ground operations positions on the tarmac.
Behind the scenes, the airline also quietly overhauled how it runs the airport.
In April, it increased its daily flight banks from six to seven, a structural shift that Cesar Marchese, American’s new vice president of operations at PHL, says is already paying off, with less congestion, faster connection times, and lower baggage mishandling rates.
“Then I think going forward it’s really helping set up the hub for continuous growth, success,” Marchese said.
New international routes to Budapest, Prague, and Santiago, Dominican Republic, round out an ambitious summer slate, and Marchese sounds energized about what’s ahead.
“What I’m liking the most is the vibe of the team,” he said. “This is a really passionate team, and very proud of the work in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia entirely.”
For the full story on American Airlines’ summer strategy and operations at PHL, head over to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
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