US airlines say they have hit a turning point: After a lousy first quarter, they expect to be profitable as Americans return to travel in the biggest numbers since the start of the pandemic. American Airlines is the latest carrier to give a rosy outlook for the rest of 2022. American said Thursday that although it lost $1.64 billion in the first quarter, sales hit a record in March, and the company expects to earn a profit in the second quarter. “Demand is as strong as we have ever seen it,” American CEO Robert Isom told analysts. American’s upbeat view echoed similar comments from Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, which both predicted in recent days that they will earn full-year profits despite big losses in the first quarter. Air travel was subdued in January and February by the omicron variant that caused an increase in COVID-19 cases among both travelers and airline employees. But travelers came back in March, and airline executives believe that Americans are eager to travel this summer and won’t be discouraged by another, smaller uptick in coronavirus cases and higher airfares. Industry officials attribute rising airfares to a combination of covering higher fuel costs, a limited number of flights compared with schedules before the pandemic, and strong demand. “We are encouraged that indeed month to month we are seeing a greater increase in fares,” said Vasu Raja, American’s chief commercial officer. “We are seeing a lot of strength in the fare environment.” The recovery is being powered by leisure travelers, but the airlines say they are seeing more business travelers. American said overall business travel is 80% of pre-pandemic levels, dragged down by corporate travel, which is only 50% of 2019 levels. Isom said, however, that corporate bookings are the highest they have been since the start of the pandemic, “and we expect that to continue as more companies reopen their offices.”<br/>
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The United States government said on Thursday it was extending a requirement that non-US citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the US-Mexico and US-Canada borders must be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The requirements were first adopted in November as part of reopening the United States to land crossings by foreign tourists after the borders had been closed to most visitors since March 2020. The vaccination requirements had been set to expire on Thursday unless they were extended. International air travelers over the age of 2 regardless of citizenship must provide a negative test for the virus before arriving and non U.S. citizens must also show proof of vaccination. People traveling at land or ferry crossings do not need to provide a negative test. There are some limited exceptions to the rules including for those who have recently recovered from COVID-19. The Homeland Security Department (DHS) said the decision was made after consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC says vaccines are the most effective public health measure to protect people from severe COVID-19 related illness or death. In January, DHS extended vaccination requirements to foreign essential workers such as truck drivers and nurses crossing US land borders.<br/>
Hong Kong is considering easing rules that see flights temporarily banned if they bring in a certain number of Covid-19 cases, amid pressure on the financial hub to loosen one of the world’s strictest pandemic travel regimes. Under the plan, which was first reported by the South China Morning Post, the threshold for triggering the suspension of a flight will be lifted to five or more cases from the current three, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. Officials are also discussing whether to shorten the length of time flight routes are banned to around five days from seven, the people said, asking not to be named discussing information that isn’t yet public. It’s yet to be decided when the shift will be implemented, the people said, with one person saying any reduction in the ban’s duration needed approval from Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.<br/>
SpaceX signed its first deal to add Starlink satellite internet to an air carrier’s fleet of planes with semi-private charter company JSX, as Elon Musk’s firm moves into the in-flight Wi-Fi market. JSX CEO Alex Wilcox said Thursday that the agreement with SpaceX covers service on up to 100 airplanes. JSX currently has 77 30-seat Embraer jets in its fleet. “We’ll be the first to have [Starlink] on an airplane,” Wilcox said. The co-founder of JSX, Wilcox was the former head of product development at JetBlue Airways. SpaceX’s Starlink service on JSX flights is pending regulatory approval, but Wilcox said he expects it to be available by the fourth quarter, if not earlier. Currently, a Starlink aircraft antenna is installed on a JSX airplane for testing purposes. “The SpaceX engineers are unbelievable,” Wilcox said. Wilcox declined to provide financial details about JSX’s contract with SpaceX. He noted that JSX will provide Starlink service to passengers free of charge, with no login screens required to access the network.<br/>