Analysts Expect Slow Recovery for Airline Industry Once Coronavirus Outbreak Is Contained Written 20 March 2020
Southwest Airlines had the most passengers among U.S. airlines in 2019, according the U.S. Transportation Department. | Alan Wilson; Aerospace America
Aerospace America reports that aerospace-focused consultancy Brian Foley Associates Founder Brian Foley said, “it’s not going to be a rapid bounce back” for the airline industry once the coronavirus outbreak is contained. Foley said, “There won’t be a rush back [to the airlines] to go on vacation” by consumers once travel restrictions are lifted. Foley added, “It’s going to be a month-by-month thing as people get comfortable getting up in the air again.” In “the short term, he said, U.S. government aid is the most crucial factor.” On Tuesday, the Department of the Treasury “proposed a $1 trillion stimulus package that includes $50 billion in loans for passenger and cargo carriers.” Mike Boyd, president of the aviation consulting group Boyd Group International, said regarding the conditions of government aid, “There’s going to have to be those kinds of offers made, some strict use of this money.” Boyd added, “The airline industry needs to be proactive in saying ‘this is what we’re going to do.’” He predicted, “If we get a handle on the virus and find out that it’s either abating or it’s not as severe as we thought it was, overall, I think it’s going to get better” for the airline industry.
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