US air travel sector still miles from recovery

US air travel sector still miles from recovery

Houston, 17 February (Argus) — The US air travel industry faces a clouded outlook for 2022, with the persistence of Covid-19, lagging corporate demand and high jet fuel costs obscuring the sector's route back to pre-pandemic strength.

Air travel trade groups have characterized the sector's recovery from Covid-19 impacts as a matter of course, with the International Air Transport Association and US Travel Association respectively forecasting that passenger volumes will resume pre-pandemic levels by 2023 or 2024. But the spread of the Omicron variant and changes to demand could jeopardize those targets, with US airlines starting 2022 on shaky ground after another financially challenging year.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines lost a combined $3.7bn in 2021 and $1.9bn in the fourth quarter alone as variants of Covid-19 added turbulence to the sector's recovery. Widespread infections among staff caused thousands of cancellations across the sector in January, and Delta estimated that consumers' fears over the Omicron variant will push back demand recovery by at least 60 days.