American cancels 296 more flights

American Airlines cancelled another 296 flights on Friday as repairs continued on planes grounded by hail damage in Texas, but it hoped yesterday to be nearly back to normal operations. Spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said the cancellations on Friday affected flights in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Since Tuesday's storms, American and its American Eagle affiliate have cancelled about 1,900 flights. Huguely said they expected only 27 cancellations yesterday. Of the original 108 planes hit by hail, 55 were still out of service. They are one-aisle planes, mostly MD-80s, that American uses for flights within the US and to nearby international destinations such as Mexico. Huguely said the airline was finding planes to operate all international flights, and all the remaining cancellations were domestic trips.