Forget Business Travelers, U.S. Airlines Now Battle Over Vacationers
Skift Take
Not long ago, many U.S. airlines were focused on business travelers. They often neglected the leisure traveler. But Covid-19 changed everything.
With business travel at American Airlines down more than 95 percent compared to last year, the airline has made what might be a lasting juke. This winter, it will be a leisure-oriented airline, focused on taking customers from the cold to warm-weather destinations in the southern United States.
And if those passengers demand deals, American will discount its tickets. It needs to fill its airplanes, and it knows the business customer willing to pay a premium from New York or Los Angeles is not returning soon. Leisure travelers won't help airlines close the gap compared to pre-Covid revenues —in October most airlines are flying at about half the capacity of last year, according to analyst Brett Snyder — but at least they will help carriers build cash flow and keep the operation going.
"The customer is changing," Vasu Raja, the airline's chief revenue officer, said Wednesday at the Cowen 2020 Global Transportation & Sustainable Mobility Conference. "Historically, the network
