Ask the Captain: Do airlines fly bigger planes for the holidays?

Question: What's all the talk about airports being busy during the holidays? Most of the time I fly, the flights are so full that unless the airlines add planes, there would not be more capacity during the holidays.            

— Harold, Sarasota, Fla.

Answer: Airplanes and airports are nearly full every day. The holidays add more demand that the airlines try to meet with additional flights. Balancing the right number of flights in the right places is a large challenge for airlines.

Q: During holidays with increased passenger demand, will the airlines consider using larger airplanes (e.g. 777, 747) on domestic routes or just increase the number/schedule of smaller aircraft?         

— Brian, Georgia

A: Airline scheduling departments will carefully evaluate where they can use every seat. Airplanes such as the Boeing B777 and B747 are very good long-range airplanes, therefore it is likely they will only be utilized on longer, primarily international routes.

It is more likely that additional shorter-range airplanes will be used domestically. As an example, a route regularly flown on a regional jet may be replaced by a B737 or Airbus A320 during the period of heavier demand around the holidays.

Q: On a flight from Chicago to Dallas, I had the pleasure of flying on a 787. A year later that same flight uses an MD-80. How come?              

— Sam, Florida

A: Airlines change equipment due to many factors. If the 787 were needed on other routes and the MD-80 was available, it would be changed. Airplanes such as the 787 that are new to the fleet are operated domestically for a time then transferred to the international routes for which they were purchased. That may have been a factor.

Q: Why are so few airlines in the USA flying the 787 Dreamliner on domestic routes? It seems like it would be good for LAX to New York, Orlando, etc.    

— Brent Ekstrand, Alta Loma, Calif.

A: The 787 was designed for long-distance flight, making the early routes international. As more 787s join the fleet you will see more of them on domestic legs. This is similar to the 767 a few years ago.

John Cox is a retired airline captain with US Airways and runs his own aviation safety consulting company, Safety Operating Systems.