American Airways Pilots and Flight Attendants Unions Say They Can’t Discover Lodge Rooms

It’s not just travelers who find more crowds and fuller hotels this summer. Some flight attendants say they run into the same problem.

American Airlines Group Inc. flight attendants and pilots this week filed complaints against the airline claiming the airline had failed to adequately provide hotels and transportation, especially when bad weather and other disruptions disrupt flight schedules.

The problems are the latest signs of mounting pain in the travel industry as the sudden surge in demand this summer has temporarily overwhelmed airports, hotels and tourism hotspots.

Pilots and flight attendants have indicated that they sometimes arrive at airports to find they don’t have a hotel for the night and often face long waits while arrangements are made. That made it harder for the crew to get the rest they need between flights, union leaders said in statements announcing the complaint lawsuits against American.

Airlines are flooded into vacation destinations this summer, including some in remote areas near nature parks – one reason hotels have been harder to find at times, union and airline officials say. The hotels have also become more crowded. In the week ending July 17, the US hotels were 71% fully booked, and according to the hotel data tracker STR, the highest weekly hotel occupancy reached its highest level since October 2019.