U.S. Airlines Optimistic About Spring And Summer Air Travel Demand

U.S. carriers report an uptick in bookings for spring and summer travel, spurred on by positive momentum in COVID-19 case counts, deaths and coronavirus vaccination rates. 

U.S. airlines are taking steps to prepare for a return of air travel demand. While carriers do not know if demand will snap back this year or next, they have pivoted in 2021 from prioritizing liquidity and cost-cutting measures toward investing in future fleet needs and recalling furloughed staff.

The anticipated uptick in leisure travel should advantage LCCs over full-service carriers, which depend on business travel for as much as half of their annual revenues in normal times. 

The positive market updates come as U.S. passenger traffic, measured by daily U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) throughput, topped 1 million people for the fourth consecutive day on March 14, the first time checkpoint volume saw four straight days above the one million mark since mid-March of 2020.