Backlog of fliers marooned by Sandy is shrinking, airlines say

Most airlines are confident they can quickly clear their backlogs of stranded passengers as airline schedules start to return to normal in New York and across the Northeast.

Many airlines have added extra flights to hard-hit areas – especially New York – in an effort to help stranded customers get on their way.

"Over the past few days we've been able to add extra (flights) into and out of cities where we had hefty numbers" of disrupted fliers, American Airlines spokesman Kent Powell says in an e-mail to Today in the Sky.

"This has significantly reduced our standby lists," he adds. " In most markets today, there are seats available for sale in and out of the markets most impacted by Sandy."

Powell says "the heaviest" segment for stranded fliers appears to international fliers trying to fly from New York. But, he says, even that backlog looks like it will begin to clear after tomorrow's schedule.

JetBlue, which operates its largest hub at New York JFK and its second-largest at Boston, says it added seven unscheduled flights to its Thursday schedule to help clear its backlog. All operated at New York JFK, shuttling fliers to or from destinations that included Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, San Juan and St. Thomas.

Overall, JetBlue's systemwide capacity ran at about 80% of normal, which airline spokeswoman Jenny Dervin says allowed JetBlue "to clear a lot of our backlog."

And the carrier did operate a full schedule from nearby LaGuardia and Newark, with the carrier shifting some JFK passengers to flights from those airports.

"We are very hopeful we will be able to rebook or otherwise take care of the affected customers by next week," Dervin tells Today in the Sky. "The extra flights helped a lot."

At US Airways, spokesman Todd Lehmacher tells Today in the Sky that the nation's No. 5 carrier list of customers stranded by Sandy is quickly shrinking.

Lehmacher says "our operation is really looking good as far as backlog – really non-existent. (We're) not seeing any large demand or lines on the West Coast either, with folks trying to come back East."

However, Lehmacher says if US Airways has any lingering area of concern regarding flight schedules , it's at LaGuardia. The airline just resumed flights there today, but Lehmacher says possible fuel shortages and ongoing airfield maintenance following floods that covered runways could force cancellations.

Another concern:

"While we have good staffing at LaGuardia, the big issue now also seems to be crew hotel shortage," Lehmacher says. "We anticipate the need to cancel additional flights in LGA as the day progresses. If we can't safely accommodate our crew members on overnight stays then we won't send them in. The situation is still very much in flux at LGA, EWR and JFK and we are continuing assessing the operation and making changes as needed."

Outside of New York, however, Lehmacher says US Airways' operation is "good" and that 87% of its flights were on time (outside of New York) as of 9 a.m. ET today.