Half of American's RDU Flights Canceled
More than 1,000 flights nationwide were canceled as American Airlines inspects wiring on its fleet of MD-80 jets.
Posted — UpdatedHalf of American's flights into and out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport were canceled Wednesday, creating headaches for hundreds of travelers.
"I called the airline and waited on hold for about an hour," RDU passenger Natalie Andrews said. "I got reissued a ticket and sent to Continental (Airlines), and then got sent back to American to be reissued another ticket."
Nationwide, the cancellations stranded more than 100,000 passengers.
The nation's biggest airline had already canceled 460 flights on Tuesday, stranding thousands of travelers. American officials said more cancellations were possible in the coming days.
By Wednesday morning, only 30 of the airline's 300 MD-80s were back in service.
Federal inspectors found problems with wiring work done two weeks ago, although the airline says passenger safety was never jeopardized.
American uses MD-80s mostly on mid-range flights, particularly from hub airports in Dallas and Chicago. Spokesman Tim Wagner said 208 of Wednesday's cancellations would occur at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and 138 at Chicago O'Hare.
At New York's LaGuardia Airport, hundreds of passengers stood in a check-in line. The airline offered free doughnuts, coffee and orange juice, but there were few takers.
Bishop Bernard Jordan, a Harlem minister, was in a first-class line trying to catch a flight to Atlanta, where he was scheduled to preach Wednesday night.
"It would have been good to know in advance," said Jordan, who said he has 4 million frequent-flier miles with American and flies to Atlanta every other week. "I would have booked with another airline."
At Dallas-Fort Worth, Mike Barnes was wearing the same clothes he had on Tuesday morning when he left San Diego for a business trip to Indianapolis. The trip was interrupted by the sudden midday announcement of cancellations, leading Barnes to call the airline "totally unprepared."
"If it was safe enough to fly from San Diego to Dallas, why isn't it safe enough to fly from Dallas to Indianapolis?" asked the 53-year-old information technology consultant.
The airline issued a fresh apology Wednesday from Gerard Arpey, the chief executive of American and its parent, AMR Corp. Arpey said American "will do whatever it takes" to help affected customers, including compensating those who stayed overnight somewhere other than their final destination.
The Fort Worth-based carrier said it would put displaced travelers on other American flights or those operated by competitors. Wagner said that because the delays were "within our control" and not weather-related, American was offering meals, lodging and ground transportation to those affected.
American operates about 2,300 daily flights, more than one-third with MD-80s.
It was American's second bout with mass cancellations in less than two weeks for failing to meet the same wiring rules set by the Federal Aviation Administration, which is cracking down on airlines after admitting its inspectors were too lax last year with Southwest Airlines Co.
Associated Press writers Ula Ilnytzky in New York and Jeff Carlton in Dallas contributed to this report.
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