Airlines suffering from business class blues in age of Covid

NEW YORK – The Covid-19 pandemic has ushered in the era of video meetings. But can Zoom really replace inperson meetings that require business executives to travel? US airlines have suffered a steep decline in this lucrative category of travel. They do expect a rebound -just not right away.

“I suddenly stopped travelling in March because of the concerns around Covid,” JJ Kinahan, market strategist at TD AmeriTrade, told AFP.

The halt was a bit of a shock for someone who typically spent about 75 nights a year away from home for work.

Now his company only authorizes travel on a case- by- case basis. While Kinahan says he does not miss the flights, he does miss the personal connection with hotel doormen and receptionists he would encounter regularly in his travels.

As for Zoom meetings, he said, “you don’t have the same back and forth.”

Airlines are really feeling the pain: the four largest US carriers -- American, United, Delta and Southwest -- together lost nearly $11 billion in the third quarter. Americans have tentatively resumed leisure travel.

For the first time since mid-March, the number of travellers passing through airport security on October 18 exceeded the one million mark. But that is still far below the 2.6 million recorded on the same day in 2019.

Many companies have begun to authorize travel, but only in very limited amounts. Companies have to consider the legal ramifications of asking employees to get on a plane.