International passengers walk through the arrivals area at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport on November 26, 2021 in London, England.
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Airlines want people to take European vacations this summer — as long as they’re not their employees.
The carrier is discouraging its staff from using employee allowances for travel to and from some of Europe’s biggest airports, warning that getting a seat will be difficult.
The move comes as airport labor shortages and industrial strikes make European summer travel challenging, as airlines hope to take advantage of higher bookings after more than two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
American Airlines has banned staff from only using flight benefits for personal travel from London Heathrow Airport through “at least” September 11 and temporarily banned the use of those benefits from Amsterdam, until July 31 United Airlines banned the use of friends. pass – deeply discounted flights for friends and family – on a trip through London Heathrow through at least the end of August.
United is also talking to staff about challenges with overseas travel this summer and to prioritize customers, the spokeswoman said.
The decision comes after the UK’s busiest airport imposed a passenger cap in a bid to ease congestion this summer.
Free and deeply discounted tickets are a selling point for airlines because they are looking for staff to meet a jump in bookings. But operators also want to fill as many seats as possible with paying customers. Using the staff travel allowance as a so-called nonrev or nonrevenue passenger means flying on standby, compared to the confirmed space of the paying traveler.
While getting free seats or discounts is often a gamble during peak periods, this summer proves particularly tough for airline staff dreaming of a cheap European vacation.
“Many European airports experience overcrowding, significant delays and passenger caps, greatly limiting the availability of non-rev departures,” said American Airlines in a message to staff on August 5.
The letter said that only a “handful” of travelers who tried to use a companion pass recently for flights back to the US were accommodated, and that those trying to use the pass would likely be stuck in Europe for an extended period of time.
Strains at some European airports may persist after the peak summer travel season. Earlier this month, Amsterdam Schiphol said it would limit passenger departures to October.
“The aim of setting the maximum is to ensure the safety of passengers and employees and to create a reliable process at the airport,” the airport said in a statement.
The problem is not only in Europe. JetBlue Airways has suspended standby pass travel, including for staff, between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Guayaquil’s Jose Joaquin De Olmedo Airport due to “heavy flights and bag loads” into the Ecuadorian airport, according to employee records seen by CNBC.
correction: American Airlines has barred staff from only using their flight benefits for personal travel from London Heathrow Airport through “at least” September 11. The previous version misstated the pause term.
