U.S. air travel gaining altitude
Reaches highest levels yet since pandemic hit
The number of people flying in the United States has eclipsed the year-ago level for the first time in the pandemic period, although travel remains deeply depressed from 2019.
The Transportation Security Administration said 1.34 million people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints on Sunday, topping the 1.26 million people that TSA screened on the comparable Sunday a year ago.
It marked the fourth straight day that TSA saw more than 1 million people pass through its checkpoints — Friday was a new peak, nearly 1.36 million. The seven-day moving average of TSA traffic hit its highest level since March 2020, when travel was collapsing as COVID-19 spread rapidly.
However, Sunday’s screenings were still 45% lower than on the comparable day in 2019, and screenings in March are running 53% lower than the same period two years ago.
Several airlines report that after dismal sales in January and February, more people have bought tickets to travel in spring or summer as infection rates decline and more people get vaccinated against COVID-19 — about 70 million Americans have received at least one dose and 37 million have completed their vaccination, according to government figures.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said Monday that bookings began picking up five or six weeks ago.
Since the pandemic hit, air travel has picked up a few times — mostly around holidays — only to drop back down. This time, the recovery “seems like it’s real,” Bastian said on a J.P. Morgan investor conference.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said his airline will generate “core” cash instead of burning cash for March, and he expects the positive trend to continue in the months ahead.
Southwest Airlines said said revenue for March and April will be better than expected as passenger traffic and fares rise. The airline said people are booking leisure trips to beach and mountain destinations but business travel is still lagging.
Airline stocks rose in latemorning trading. United and American Airlines rose about 9%, Delta gained more than 4% and Southwest Airlines added 1%.
FRANKFURT, GERMANY >> Volkswagen plans six large battery factories in Europe by 2030 to power sales of more electric cars while driving down battery prices and making electric vehicles more affordable for entry-level buyers.
Volkswagen said it would build on its existing battery production facilities at Salzgitter in Germany and with partner Northvolt in Skelleftea, Sweden, adding new production technology and a standardized cell that it said would cut battery costs by as much as 50%.
The world’s second-largest carmaker by sales volume behind Toyota also outlined plans to work with partners to operate 18,000 fast-charging points in Europe by 2025, which it said would represent a five-fold expansion of what’s currently available. Having more places to charge on longer trips is seen as another way to get more people to buy electric cars.
Battery costs are one reason electric cars are often more expensive than internal combustion equivalents. Europe’s accelerating rollout of electric cars has been supported by expensive government and carmaker subsidies to bring the price down for consumers.
The Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker on Monday outlined plans for a broad ramping up of its battery production during an online event dubbed “Power Day,” an apparent echo of competitor Tesla’s annual “Battery Day” events where the company announces new steps in battery technology. Tesla is building a large battery factory near Berlin.
On top of the factory network, Volkswagen said it would introduce new battery technology and chemistry that aims to make production more efficient and lead to better performance, steps it said would help bring electric cars within the reach of more buyers.
“We aim to reduce the cost and complexity of the battery and at the same time increase its range and performance”, says Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen’s technology chief. “This will finally make emobility affordable and the dominant drive technology.”
Last year Volkswagen tripled its production of electric cars to 422,000 to meet tougher European Union limits on average emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas blamed by scientists for climate change. The company says it plans to produce 1.5 million a year by 2025.