US airline stocks are affected by the rising number of COVID cases. Investors are worried about the return of stricter COVID restrictions. But for US airline executives, they are not seeing any slowdown in ticket sales despite the rising delta variant cases.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that “We haven’t seen any impact at all on bookings, which continue to just get stronger and stronger every week”. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has the same opinion as Kirby though he noted that the rising delta variant cases affected international travel. This delayed the opening of borders. Recently, CDC and the State Department raised UK’s travel advisory to level 4.
US airlines had a better performance this summer compared to last year when lockdowns were in place. This season, more than 2 million people fly every day. This even created labor shortage issues on airlines.
During the start of the pandemic last year, airlines noticed that bad headlines made travelers hesitate to travel. For the rest of 2020, there were more cancellations than ticket sales. This time around, airline executives noticed that Americans are more confident to travel.
United noticed that its cancellation rate in the last few weeks remained the same. However, it remains higher compared to pre-pandemic levels.
According to government data, more than 50% of Americans completed their COVID vaccine doses. United also said that 84% of their frequent-flyer program members completed their COVID19 vaccine.
Airlines are lobbying for the return of European travelers to the US. However, travel restrictions imposed in March 2020 remain in place. As for Americans, they can travel to European Union countries and in the UK but they will have to complete their 10-day quarantine.
Kirby said that “We are working closely with the government, and it’s a two-way conversation where they are getting input from us, input for them”. He added that “All of us want to make sure we do this safely”. Kirby also noted that the industry is willing to require vaccination.
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