US: ‘People are getting in planes’: The travel business is picking up

The nation’s largest airlines are preparing for a limited rebound next month as more Americans book vacations in places like Florida and the mountains and national parks in the West. That resurgence would offer some hope to the travel industry, which racked up billions of dollars in losses as tourists and businesspeople cancelled trips in the last three months because of the coronavirus epidemic. Some in the industry said the recovery was now already underway. After cratering in April, the number of travellers and airline and airport employees filtering through the TSA’s airport checkpoints has steadily climbed in recent weeks. The low point arrived on April 14, when the agency screened fewer than 90,000 people, just 4% of those screened the same date last year. On Sunday, the agency screened more than 440,000 people, about 17% of last year’s number and the best day since March. Investors appear to have noticed those numbers, and airline stock prices have surged. Airlines say they are preparing to capitalize on the renewed interest in travel. “We’re seeing a slow but steady rise in domestic demand,” Vasu Raja, American’s senior vice president of network strategy, said in a statement. “After a careful review of data, we’ve built a July schedule to match.” American plans to operate about 55% as many domestic flights as it did last July. That would be up from just 20% in May. United is planning for a similar, if somewhat smaller, rebound. <br/>