Airlines sink most since 2011 on virus’s ‘gut punch’ to demand

In just a few days, US travel has begun to crumble. That’s the message from a sudden rash of warnings from US airlines. Southwest said Thursday that Q1 sales would take a hit of as much as $300m after a plunge in demand that CEO Gary Kelly called a “gut punch.” United and JetBlue are planning to trim flights as they brace for a slowdown. The tumble in demand underscored the escalating crisis for airlines as governments around the world try to contain the spread of an epidemic that has sickened more than 95,000. A global trade group for airlines said the industry will lose as much as $113b in sales because of the outbreak. As infections worsen in the US, companies from Boeing to JPMorgan Chase & Co. have curtailed non-essential business travel. “The spread of the coronavirus is rapidly sending the airline industry into a recession with the possibility of a global slowdown,” Andrew Didora, an analyst at Bank of America, said in a note to clients. A Standard & Poor’s index of major US airlines fell 8.2%, the biggest drop since October 2011. The ratio of the Dow Jones Transportation Average to the broader blue-chip industrial average has plummeted to its lowest level since the financial crisis.<br/>