Major US carriers stumbled through another money-losing quarter at the end of the 2021 but remain confident of a travel recovery later in 2022.
File: Holiday travellers pass through Los Angeles International Airport.WASHINGTON - Major US carriers stumbled through another money-losing quarter at the end of the 2021 but remain confident of a travel recovery later in 2022, based in part on hopes that COVID-19 will soon evolve into an ordinary and seasonal virus.
The Omicron surge has not only weighed on bookings in early 2022 -- already a seasonally weak period -- but also played a role in the cancellation of nearly 32,000 flights in the United States between Christmas Eve and January 11 as airline employees infected with the virus were unable to work. American"will continue to match its forward capacity with observed booking trends," said the carrier, which plans first-quarter capacity to be down eight to 10 percent compared with 2019 levels.
"While Omicron is impacting near-term demand, we remain optimistic about the spring and excited about the summer and beyond," said United Chief Executive Scott Kirby.United reported a fourth-quarter loss of $646-million as it lowered its outlook for 2022 capacity amid a sluggish return in highly profitable business travel.Kirby is among the executives who have spoken about Covid-19 moving into an"endemic" phase, a view also adopted by Delta Air Lines.