Airlines detect signs of nascent recovery

Airline executives said people are starting to book flights again, a potential inflection point after the coronavirus pandemic decimated travel demand in recent months. Top US carriers said Tuesday at an industry conference and in filings that new bookings have started to trickle in and cancellations have slowed. United said it would restore some capacity in July. Southwest said its flights are 25% to 30% full. It previously expected its planes to be at most 10% full this month. “We have seen a little bit of a bounce off the bottom,” said Paul Jacobson, Delta’s CFO. Delta said sales have exceeded refunds on some days recently, a reversal of the recent trend. The bookings are a signal of plans for leisure travel in June and July, Jacobson said. “But we have to be careful that those actually translate into trips and don’t just cancel,” he said, adding that even with the uptick, demand is still a fraction of what it typically would be during the usually busy summer months. The industry is trying to develop common rules to revamp the handling of passengers at airports and onboard aircraft, including temperature checks and the wearing of masks. The IATA said Tuesday that it is working with the aviation arm of the UN to lobby governments to adopt industrywide standards, which would include screening passengers before they enter airport buildings. “The restart will go much more smoothly if governments cooperate,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s CE.<br/>