Before gathering around the table, an estimated 5.2 million travelers will board Delta flights across the globe this week, making this year’s Thanksgiving travel period the busiest on record.
Meteorologists in the Operations & Customer Center are keeping a close eye on a winter storm system making its way west across the Rockies into the Midwest, bringing several inches of snow and gusty winds to the region. Due to the anticipated forecast, the airline proactively issued weather waivers for Denver, Tuesday, and Minneapolis, Wednesday.
Teams across the airline are also prepped and ready for the holiday rush on more than 470 additional flights scheduled compared to last year. From the OCC to the ramp, through the terminals and up in the air, Delta people will connect more customers to loved ones than ever before.
“Families and friends across the globe count on us to connect them to what matters most this time of year,” said Gil West, Delta’s Chief Operating Officer. “There’s no team better suited for the task than Delta people, who continue to raise the bar for operational excellence and unmatched customer service for the millions we’ll see this Thanksgiving week.”
This Sunday will see the highest volume, with more than 690,000 customers taking to the skies to journey home across 6,130 Delta flights. To compare, this is more than an average summer peak travel day, but just shy of 2019’s busiest day, Aug. 5, with 6,196 flights.
Delta forecasts a 2% increase – equaling more than 100,000 customers – from last year’s Thanksgiving week, and totaling an approximate 5.2 million between Sunday, Nov. 24, and Wednesday, Dec. 3. An increase of fliers year over year means that more and more customers continue to trust Delta people with their holiday travel.
Eyes on the skies: What fliers can expect
Delta’s team of meteorologists will provide operations teams with the latest weather model data across the system 24/7 through the holiday weekend, including the winter storm expected to impact Denver and Minneapolis.
The storm will continue to trek east through mid-week, bringing winds and frozen mixed precipitation through parts of the Midwest. Delays from de-icing operations are likely for Tuesday in the Rockies and Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Although this holiday travel season is expected to be busy, customers can still travel like pros using Delta’s nine tips for a smooth trip.
Canceling cancels in time for the holidays
All year Delta people have rallied together to deliver industry-leading reliable service for customers and have tied1 last year’s impressive 251 total number of mainline cancel-free days. This means 251 days where zero Delta customers didn’t make it to their destination as a result of a cancellation – no easy feat for a global airline averaging 5,500 daily departures.
Together with Delta’s regional partners, customers have also enjoyed 153 Brand Days2, or days without a cancellation across both mainline and Delta Connection operations, which is 24 more than last year’s total and a 30 percent year-over-year cancellation reduction.
Extra support from Delta Peach Corps in Atlanta
Employee-volunteers known as the Delta Peach Corps will be ready to assist customers traveling through the Atlanta Airport for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Peach Corps teams assist with terminal meet-and-greet, wayfinding, kiosk assist, wheelchair assistance and other customer service touchpoints, helping Delta colleagues by redirecting customers who don’t need to see a customer service agent to begin their trip.
(1.) Based on Delta’s internal statistical reporting of all Delta-operated mainline flights scheduled between Jan. 1, 2019 and Nov. 25, 2019.
(2.) Based on Delta’s internal statistical reporting of all Delta-operated mainline flights and Delta Connection system flights scheduled between Jan. 1, 2019 and Nov. 25, 2019.
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