America’s ‘Big Three’ Airlines Prepare for a Very Painful Fall
The world’s largest carriers are on a one-way trip from pandemic to contraction, and more than 100,000 employees could pay the fare.
Airline industry may see $314 billion in lost 2020 ticket sales.
U.S. airlines face a bleak future of depressed traffic and volatile revenue well into 2021, as the global economy transitions from the acute damage of a public health catastrophe into a potentially long recession.
Already a bumpy ride for the “Big Three” carriers, the journey promises to get worse this fall when billions of dollars in government assistance comes to an end. Several carriers, including Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc., have begun openly contemplating how they will shrink operations, while American Airlines Group Inc. is moving to shed more of its older planes.