Uptick In Spring Break Weekend Flights Gives Airlines Confidence

Airline reservations are up in the U.S., with more action recorded this past weekend for spring break than at any other time period in the COVID-19 pandemic’s history, according to Financial Times (FT) on Monday (March 15).

United Airlines chief executive officer Scott Kirby told investors that the company will be on course if the current trend for reservations continues. On Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened 86,000 more travelers than the same day in 2020. Overall, TSA screenings have topped 1 million daily since Thursday last week.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said there were “glimmers of hope” from ticket sales minus refunds. A regulatory filing indicated the first two weeks of March resulted in a 30 percent hike in the first two weeks of March compared to February’s average, according to FT.

“I do think we’re near the end of the virtual world,” Kirby told FT, adding that demand could hit 2019 levels by 2023.

The TSA recorded in excess of 2.57 million passengers passing through airport checkpoints this weekend. According to FT, on Friday alone, 1.36 million passed through, which is the single biggest day for air travel since the pandemic took hold in the country on March 15, 2020.

The drop in new coronavirus cases combined with the increasing rollout of vaccines has also added to some of the country’s confidence that the pandemic is on its way out.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she was concerned about the increase in the number of people traveling. She warned that Americans should not “relax” or let their guard down.

The University of California Davis paid students $75 to skip spring break this year and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by sidestepping nonessential travel.

Hyatt’s CEO Mark Hoplamazian said last week that he was confident the hotel industry would rebound as more vaccines were distributed.

The chief medical adviser for the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned that the European coronavirus spike was evidence enough that ending pandemic protocols too early could extend the pandemic.