American Airlines plane photographed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on October 9th. (Xinhua News Agency/Ou Xin)
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 24 (Reporter Liu Jiang) The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the global tourism industry severely, and major US air carriers “business is dismal” in the third quarter.
Since the summer vacation is covered, the third quarter is usually the peak travel season. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines reported on the 22nd that their revenues in the third quarter dropped significantly, with losses of US$2.4 billion and US$1.16 billion respectively.
The Associated Press reported that with the addition of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, the four major U.S. air transport companies lost at least $20 billion in the first two quarters. Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines issued third-quarter financial reports, with losses of US$5.4 billion and US$1.8 billion, respectively.
Since October, passenger traffic in the US air transport industry has decreased by 65% compared with the same period last year. Most airline managers believe that until the epidemic is under control and vaccines are widely available,
The airline passenger industry “will not fully recover,” which means that operating conditions will continue to be sluggish. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) that things will only change when business travelers retake the flight.
