American Airlines will begin booking flights to capacity on July 1, the carrier announced Friday.
American during the past several months has limited capacity on flights to about 85 percent, a less strict capacity cap than some of its competitors, including Delta Air Lines, which is blocking all middle seats and limiting economy seating to 60 percent capacity. As of July, American will allow flights to be completely sold, though travelers will be notified of full flights and be allowed to move to less crowded flights without charge when available. That puts it in line with the policy enacted by United Airlines in May.
The carrier also is creating a new Travel Health Advisory Panel that includes health experts from Vanderbilt University Medical Center for guidance in such areas as disease prevention and cleaning procedures. As of June 30, American will begin asking travelers to verify that they have been free of a list of Covid-19 symptoms for the past 14 days, a checklist it developed with Vanderbilt.
In addition, American is working with the Global Biorisk Advisory Council to achieve accreditation for its fleet and lounge cleaning procedures, which it expects to achieve by the end of this year, according to the carrier.