This may not be you come Christmas.
Getty ImagesGood news, you already booked your flight for the holidays. But it’s bad news if you booked it with American Airlines.
A computer glitch at the company, one of the largest airlines in the world, apparently allowed all its pilots to take vacation during the busy holiday travel time.
The system is supposed to let pilots bid for vacation time based on seniority, according to a report from CBS in Dallas. But that’s not how it worked out.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
“As a result, thousands of flights currently do not have pilots assigned to fly them during the upcoming critical holiday period,” the pilot’s union, called the Allied Pilot’s Association, said in a statement.
American, for its part, said in a statement that it is offering pilots 150 percent of their hourly wage to work some shifts over the holidays and that it plans to work with the pilot’s union to help resolve the issue.
The APA said in its statement that it hasn’t so far been asked by American to help find solutions.
“This is certainly not routine,” Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the union, told Bloomberg News. “This is a crisis right now, and in that crisis, they’ve gone solo.”
So on top of making sure your kid isn’t stuck home alone or that the Grinch hasn’t stolen Christmas, you’ll have to worry about whether your airplane will take off. Considering that 30 million people are expected to take to the skies for the holidays this year, that’s a lot of potentially ruined holidays.
First published Nov. 29, 11:53 a.m. PT.
Update, 1:30 p.m.: Adds comment from American Airlines.
Special Reports: CNET’s in-depth features in one place.
CNET en Español: Get all your tech news and reviews in Spanish.
