U.S. Airlines Foresee Extended Downturn Due to the Pandemic

Airlines in the U.S. foresee that it will take years before their business recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Fox Business, they pulled together more than $100 billion “by tapping government aid and mortgaging assets including planes and frequent-flier programs.”

Carriers said they likely have enough cash to survive an extended downturn. Meanwhile, passenger demand will be down for years. This is according to chief executives of United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Delta Air Lines Inc. presented “cautious optimism” that the demand for travel is beginning to return. However, the pandemic appears likely to continue weighing on travel for years.

“The virus has had a much broader impact over the course of the year than any of us were suspecting,” said Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian in an interview.

Fox Business explained that the two primary challenges of airlines are easing the fear of flying and “reinventing themselves to compete for a share of an air-travel business that has abruptly become much smaller.”

United and Delta together reportedly lost $16.8 billion during the first nine months of 2020. They both reduced their workforces by at least 20%. These include more than 13,000 furloughs at United, Fox Business reported.

“Make no mistake—we’re still in the early miles of this marathon,” Bastian wrote in a Thursday memo to employees.

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