Economics
Airlines Leave $29 Billion Aid Fund Untapped in Bet on Rebound
- Some carriers may be put off by strings attached to loans
- Travel demand appears to be slowly reviving as U.S. reopens
A pilot pulls luggage while walking through a terminal at San Francisco International Airport, on April 2.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
U.S. airlines have yet to tap $29 billion in federal pandemic relief loans as they wait to see whether the reopening of the economy revives demand and diminishes the need for money that comes with government strings attached.
Although the four largest U.S. passenger airlines have applied for the Treasury Department program, only American Airlines Group Inc. has said it intends to tap the pool of funds. Southwest Airlines Co., United Airlines Holdings and Delta Air Lines Inc. say they plan to wait until fall before deciding whether to take the money -- after a summer travel season that could see more people return to the skies.