What’s Ahead For Airlines And Aviation In 2021

What’s Ahead For Airlines And Aviation In 2021

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Air travel demand could snap back quicker than many in the industry are predicting, but dark clouds are forming in China for aircraft makers, Forbes contributors forecast.

Ted Reed, aviation journalist who's written for the Miami Herald and TheStreet

THE BIG TREND: Business travel will return and leisure travel will surge. The only real question is timing. I think travel will gradually return in the second half of 2021, on a path to 80% of 2019 levels in the summer of 2022. As a sign of this recovery, American Airlines will be back to 700 daily departures from Charlotte for Thanksgiving 2021. For comparison, in 2020 American operated 460 average daily Charlotte departures during the 12-day holiday, with a peak of 518 departures on Nov. 29.

WHAT TO WATCH: Delta Air Lines will place a 737 MAX order with Boeing at very favorable rates. Southwest will do well at its new destinations in Colorado Springs and Fresno. Delta will reap a benefit from keeping the middle seat empty longer than anyone else did, and will mention its revenue premium on every earnings call. 



THE UNCONVENTIONAL WISDOM: American will be very profitable in the third quarter.

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