Virus fears clobber airlines
Industry heads for record $84B loss this year
In a bid to survive, airlines are desperately trying to convince a wary public that measures like mandatory face masks and hospitalgrade air filters make sitting in a plane safer than many other indoor settings during the coronavirus pandemic. It isn’t working.
Surveys indicate that instead of growing comfortable with air travel, more people are becoming skeptical about it.
Globally, air travel is down more than 85% from a year ago, according to industry figures. The four largest U.S. airlines lost a combined $10 billion from April through June.
“We were all hoping that by the fall the virus might run its course,” said Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly. “Obviously, that has proven to be dead wrong.”
When Consumer Reports surveyed more than 1,000 people in June about their comfort with various activities during the pandemic, 70% said flying was very or somewhat unsafe. They rated going to a hospital emergency room or standing in line to vote as safer.
John Kontak, a schoolteacher from Phoenix, said he worried about his fellow passengers as he stepped onto a crowded American Airlines flight this summer to visit his parents in Ohio.
“I don’t know anything about this person who is sitting a foot away from me,” Kontak said. “They took the bottom line or the dollar over the safety of passengers. Next time, I’d rather drive back to Ohio than fly — it’s safer because I can control it.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says sitting within 6 feet of other passengers may increase the risk of getting COVID-19. But CDC also notes that most viruses and other germs don’t spread easily on flights because of how air circulates on planes.
The International Air Transport Association predicts carriers will lose $84 billion this year, making it the worst year in the industry’s history. The group says traffic won’t fully recover until 2024.
Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and Alaska leave some seats empty to create room between passengers. United, American and Spirit do not, arguing that social distancing is impossible on a plane.
Carol Braddick, a business coach and consultant who splits her time between Phoenix and England, was so worried about the American Airlines leg of her journey to the U.K. that she sought out a COVID-19 test after arriving.
“The person I was sitting next to was drinking nonstop, shouting to his friend a row behind him; they were shouting back and forth,” Braddick said. “The combination of alcohol, shouting and no mask is unacceptable, and the flight attendant did nothing.”
Braddick put off plans for a couple of short holiday trips within Europe this summer.
“The new reality for us is fewer trips, longer stays, and being much more selective about which airline we’ll fly,” she said.