Southwest says holiday bookings are slowing again after latest wave of COVID-19

Southwest cautioned Thursday that the tenuous recovery in air travel could be fading as coronavirus cases spike across the United States. The nation’s fourth-biggest airline said after a modest rise in leisure-travel bookings from August through October, it now sees a slowdown in what were improving revenue trends for November and December. The report from Dallas-based Southwest added to fears that the spreading virus cases will hurt travel demand heading into Thanksgiving, a key period for airlines. Southwest said in a regulatory filing that October revenue is down about 65% from a year ago, and that November and December revenue will be off 60% to 65%. It is unclear whether the weakening booking trends is directly related to the surge in virus cases. Other industry officials left little doubt, however. “Demand is softening, and in the wake of the news, it’s probably not hard to figure out why,” said Nicholas Calio, president of the trade group Airlines for America. Airlines have added more flights for Thanksgiving, but health officials are warning against big gatherings over the holiday. This week, New York limited private gatherings to 10 people, even for outdoor events.<br/>