Passengers Slowly Return to Airlines After Coronavirus Dropoff Written 12 June 2020
A United Airlines Airbus A320 sits at a gate at San Francisco International Airport | Agarre16; Wikipedia; CC BY-SA 4.0
The Associated Press reports that travelers are starting to fly again after the airline industry had “essentially been grounded for months” due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Airlines were “among the hardest hit companies” by the pandemic, and analysts “don’t expect passenger traffic to get back to 2019 levels anytime soon.” Citi analyst Stephen Trent wrote in a note to investors, “While it is unlikely that we are out of the woods on COVID-19, improving passenger flow numbers suggest some consumers’ desire to travel is outweighing COVID-19 concerns.” Airlines for America has said, “Once demand has recovered, it will take years for airlines to retire the newly accumulated billions of dollars of debt and to address the sizable associated interest expense, limiting their wherewithal to rehire and reinvest.”
Full Story (Associated Press)