Miserable Holiday Weekend for US Airways, Delta’s Comair
Dec 27th, 2004 | By Jared BlankAs you’ve probably already heard, US Airways and Delta’s commuter affiliate Comair had terrible holiday weekends, plagued with computer problems and labor woes.
US Airways’ misery began when baggage handlers called out sick in large numbers over the weekend, causing a huge backlog of misplaced bags. The carrier also had to cancel 29 flights yesterday and 300 in total over the weekend because of sick calls from baggage handlers and flight attendants. Unions for those employees said the sick calls were not an organized effort, but you can understand what happened when you find out that those employees just took a huge paycut and were asked to work more hours (the NY Times reports that a starting flight attendant now makes about $12,000…they’re probably better off getting a paper route at this point).
Comair saw its computer system crash, causing the airline essentially to shut down over the weekend. Flights resumed yesterday, but they won’t be fully operational until Wednesday.