Airlines have ramped back up to full capacity following cuts by the FAA during the tail end of the government shutdown.
DENVER — United Airlines is gearing up for what airline leaders call their “Super Bowl week” as Thanksgiving approaches, with travelers showing renewed confidence after a government shutdown that threatened to disrupt the busy holiday travel season. The airline saw bookings jump 15% for the Thanksgiving holiday after the government reopened, signaling that travelers feel comfortable flying now that the Federal Aviation Administration air travel limitations have been lifted.
“We did see a rise of about 15% in bookings for Thanksgiving after they reopened the government, so that’s a good thing,” said Jonna McGrath, vice president of airport operations for United’s Denver hub. “I think people are feeling that confidence that they’re going to be able to travel and get to where they need to be.”
United will operate around 545 flights daily next week, around Thanksgiving from Denver, serving over 50,000 customers each day. Colin Whatley, the director of the United Denver Station Operations Center, said Thanksgiving represents one of the airline’s most important operational periods.
“Super Bowl week for us,” Whatley said. “We’re here to make the customer journey as seamless as possible and make sure folks get to where they need to go at the end of the day.”
The airline’s Station Operations Center inside the airport serves as the command hub for managing the holiday rush. McGrath described it as “our quarterback of our operation,” coordinating everything from catering and fueling to customer service and flight crews.
“Everything from the catering to the fueling to the customer service boarding to the crews, they are making sure everyone is in sync doing what they need to do at the right time,” McGrath said.
The people in this room helped manage the cuts to air travel implemented by the FAA during the tail end of the government shutdown to try and minimize the impact on people flying.
“We kept our operation very strong, safe, and on time throughout the shutdown, and we’re continuing to do that now,” McGrath said.
The recovery process mirrors how the airline bounces back from severe weather events, according to McGrath. Ramping back up feels like the storm has passed.
“We do this often after a rainstorm or thunderstorm or big snowstorm,” she said. “We have to scale back up the next day. We call those our recovery days. We’ve gotten really good at being able to do that to get people back into the right spots to be able to operate all those flights.”
Whatley emphasized that every flight is managed through the operations center, where staff communicate with flight crews, ground crews and customer service agents.
“No flights move without this room,” Whatley said. “We’re fully engaged with the flight crews, the ramp crews on the ground.”
Despite ongoing concerns about air traffic controller shortages affecting airports nationwide, Denver has experienced fewer problems than some East Coast cities. United officials say travelers can expect typical Thanksgiving crowds without the added stress of shutdown-related disruptions.
“Really, our focus is to minimize the customer disruption,” Whatley said.
