JetBlue is Reducing its Summer Schedule in Response to a Recruiting Drive

Airlines in the United States are rapidly recruiting to prepare for a predicted increase in summer travel demand as the COVID-19 outbreak recedes. Several major US airlines have been forced to cancel hundreds or thousands of flights due to severe weather interruptions since September.

The airline headquartered in New York said on Sunday that "in light of sustained industry problems and high demand during the summer," it is planning more cautiously and attempting to be proactive with cancellations due to disruptive weather and air traffic control events when possible.

JetBlue canceled 148 flights, or 13% of its schedule, and delayed 39% of its flights on Sunday, according to FlightAware, after canceling 18% of flights and delaying 48% on Saturday.

The airline noted that "in order to get our operation back on track this week and give extra recovery options in case of more April weather events," it is canceling some flights this weekend and adjusting its schedule somewhat for the remainder of the month.

JetBlue said that after adding over 3,000 additional crew members in 2022, "we continue to have staffing constraints, and these interruptions worsen an already difficult staffing position." It said that it was recruiting "hundreds of new crew members each week in preparation for summer travel."

JetBlue last week made an unsolicited offer of $33 per share in cash to acquire Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE), outbidding Frontier Group Holdings' February offer of over $25 per share in cash and shares. Spirit said on Thursday that it will begin discussions with JetBlue over its $3.6 billion bid.