American Airlines Group (AAL) said on Saturday that it had canceled over 1,400 flights over the weekend because of staff shortages and unfavorable weather conditions.
The company was forced to cancel 376 flights on Friday, 551 flights on Saturday and 480 flights on Sunday, it said.
“With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences,” the US air carrier said in a statement, cited by Reuters.
Airlines across the globe are striving to hire more employees in preparation for the busy holiday travel season.
American Airlines has already announced plans to bolster its staffing across all operations, with almost 1,800 flight attendants being expected to return from leave and over 600 newly hired flight attendants to come on board by the end of December.
American Airlines shares closed higher for a third consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Monday. The stock went up 2.97% ($0.57) to $19.77, after touching an intraday high at $19.78. The latter has been a price level not seen since October 26th ($19.82).
Shares of American Airlines Group have risen 25.36% so far in 2021 compared with a 22.83% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2020, American Airlines’ stock went down 45.01%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 16.26% gain.
Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation
According to TipRanks, at least 4 out of 8 surveyed investment analysts had rated American Airlines’ stock as “Sell”, while 2 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $18.79.
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