US: Airlines were counting on a post-Labor Day surge in business travel. It looks like that won't happen

This week was supposed to be the time when many workers began returning to offices, and business travelers started returning to the air. Neither of those things is happening the way US airlines had counted on. With the rise of Covid-19 cases in recent months, many offices have pushed back reopening plans until later this fall or even into 2022. And without reopened offices to visit, many business travel plans have also been put on hold. "Delaying back-to-office has an effect on business travel," said Philip Baggaley, chief credit analyst of transportation companies for Standard & Poor's. "It's harder to put together a trip where you see a bunch of different clients. And company travel policy can become more cautious." In July, a survey of members by the Global Business Travel Association found 68% said they planned to begin business travel sometime in next three months. By August, that had dropped 35%. "It's a pretty dramatic change of plans," said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. "We expected to see some traction from business travel in the fall. Now we're not certain when it will happen." Story has more.<br/>