US airlines say ‘worst behind us’ as vaccines fuel recovery
US airlines struck an optimistic note on Thursday, saying the “worst is behind us” with vaccinations and easing coronavirus restrictions boosting demand ahead of the summer holiday season. “This crisis is far from over . . . but there is no doubt, the pace of recovery is accelerating,” American Airlines CE Doug Parker said on the company’s earnings call. Southwest chief Gary Kelly sounded similarly upbeat. “While the pandemic is not over, we believe the worst is behind us, in terms of the severity of the negative impact on travel demand,” he said. More than a year after air travel was all but halted by the pandemic, demand has started to recover, fuelled by vaccinations. In April so far, the US TSA has screened 1.39m passengers a day on average, the highest since the start of the pandemic but still far below the 2.3m average in the same period in 2019. The US has now administered nearly 216m vaccine doses and has fully vaccinated 87.6m people or roughly 26.4% of the population, according to the CDC. American predicted capacity will be down between 20 to 25% in the latest quarter compared with Q2 2019 — before the pandemic began. It also forecast a revenue decline of 40% compared with Q2 2019.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-04-23/general/us-airlines-say-2018worst-behind-us2019-as-vaccines-fuel-recovery
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US airlines say ‘worst behind us’ as vaccines fuel recovery
US airlines struck an optimistic note on Thursday, saying the “worst is behind us” with vaccinations and easing coronavirus restrictions boosting demand ahead of the summer holiday season. “This crisis is far from over . . . but there is no doubt, the pace of recovery is accelerating,” American Airlines CE Doug Parker said on the company’s earnings call. Southwest chief Gary Kelly sounded similarly upbeat. “While the pandemic is not over, we believe the worst is behind us, in terms of the severity of the negative impact on travel demand,” he said. More than a year after air travel was all but halted by the pandemic, demand has started to recover, fuelled by vaccinations. In April so far, the US TSA has screened 1.39m passengers a day on average, the highest since the start of the pandemic but still far below the 2.3m average in the same period in 2019. The US has now administered nearly 216m vaccine doses and has fully vaccinated 87.6m people or roughly 26.4% of the population, according to the CDC. American predicted capacity will be down between 20 to 25% in the latest quarter compared with Q2 2019 — before the pandemic began. It also forecast a revenue decline of 40% compared with Q2 2019.<br/>
