Airlines bank on leisure travelers as business trips dry up in coronavirus pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has turned airlines’ most price-sensitive customers into a prize. Airlines are dropping fees and reshaping their once-sprawling global networks to focus more on domestic vacation destinations as leisure travelers become more important. That’s on top of new rules, such as mandatory masks, put in place to entice travelers worried about flying during the pandemic. Airlines’ shift comes after the virus grounded most business travel, along with many other areas of life, depriving the industry of what was its most lucrative group. Business travelers before the virus accounted for half of US airlines’ revenue but just 30% of the trips, according to Airlines for America. Eighty-five percent of respondents in a Global Business Travel Association study conducted Sept. 15-19 said they have canceled most or all business trips this year. Close to a third of the 1,364 people polled said they expect their employees to resume in-person events and conferences in Q2 2021. “The leisure traveler is the traveler today,” said Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group and a former airline executive. Large carriers such as United, Delta and American, have been redrawing their maps away from once-lucrative international trips, as a web of travel restrictions has made much of the world off-limits for Americans. For example, United’s October capacity is 65% domestic, up from a 56% share a year ago. For US travelers, Milan is out. The Rocky Mountains are in.<br/>