JetBlue CEO, whose mom received Covid vaccine in UK, is optimistic on travel recovery in 2021

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said Tuesday he was optimistic that the deployment of coronavirus vaccines would help kick-start demand for air travel around the world, drawing on his experience with his own family. “Just before coming on this show, I just called my mother over in the U.K. She just had her Covid vaccination today,” Hayes said. “She’s already planning her trip to come see me and her grandkids in 2021. There are hundreds of millions of people like her all over the world,” he added, calling the Covid-19 vaccine “a game changer for everybody.” The airline industry has been one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, which delivered duel health and economic crises. While air travel has improved from its coronavirus-era low in the spring, traffic levels remain significantly below 2019 levels. On Monday, for example, 752,451 people went through TSA’s security checkpoints, compared with 2,250,386 on the same weekday last year, according to US government data. However, the start of Covid-19 vaccinations have offered hope of a more complete economic recovery in 2021, particularly in beleaguered sectors like travel and hospitality. For JetBlue, specifically, Hayes said he was confident in the company’s decision to begin offering trans-Atlantic flights to London in the coming months.<br/>