BOSTON Reuters - American Airlines are looking at the upcoming holiday season and the reopening of vital transatlantic routes to recover the momentum lost in the last quarter following a resurgence in COVID - 19 cases.
A month into the COVID 19 cases have raised industry hopes that passengers will be more confident to fly again.
Financial services firm Raymond James conducted an analysis of the Transportation Security Administration's 7 day average passenger screening data, which showed that while the travel demand still lags the peak in late July, it has improved from the lows in mid-September.
Cancellations have recovered, bookings are abating, Chief Executive of Hawaiian Holdings Inc. told Reuters in an interview. As we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, we've got the opportunity for a strong, solid recovery. Bookings have also recovered at Delta Air Lines, which expects domestic travel demand to surpass 2019 levels next year.
United Airlines on Thursday said it would fly its biggest domestic schedule since the start of the pandemic, offering more than 3,500 daily domestic flights in December - representing 91% of its domestic capacity compared to 2019.
It is a lot of pent-up demand, said Chief Executive Scott Kirby.
The International Air Transport Association IATA, a consortium of 290 airlines, expects air carriers in Europe to return to profit next year before their counterparts in North America.
The outlook for the industry's cash cow - business travel remains uncertain.
Airlines for America, an industry trade group, estimates business travel accounted for as much as 50% of airline passenger revenues before the Pandemic.
Carriers were banking on office reopenings for a revival in business trips this fall. But the Delta variant forced many large employers to push back office openings for next year.
Airlines say a revival is inevitable. However, there is no consensus on the timeline.
United's Robin Hayes hopes business travel will rebound to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, but JetBlue's Chief Executive Kirby reckons it could take a few years. The New York-based e-commerce provider Reallocated flights from some business markets to leisure markets, Hayes said.
holiday will be strong, Hayes told Reuters in an interview. What is certainly what is the same in our forward bookings at this moment. Airlines, meanwhile, are buoyed by the Biden administration's plan to reopen the United States to air travelers from Europe in November. The trans-Atlantic route is one of the most lucrative ones in the world and accounted for up to 17% of 2019 passenger revenue for the big three carriers.
All U.S. carriers that serve the market have seen a surge in the bookings since the White House made the announcement.
Kirby said United's bookings for trans-Atlantic flights of the last week were above the same period in 2019. Sales have also jumped at JetBlue and Delta Air.
The reopening is not just an opportunity, but is also considered a big test for the industry.
A successful reopening of the world's most important long-haul market is expected to set a trend for other markets to follow. The reimposition of restrictions could however slow the fragile recovery if COVID -19 instances start rising again.
Restrictions can't begin reappearing where they have disappeared, says Hayes. It acts as a big dampener to demand