Skift Take
U.S. airlines are bullish on the coronavirus recovery — finally. After a year of losses, some say the long-elusive inflection in bookings occurred in February with all eyes turned to summer when many expect large numbers of vacationers to return to the skies.
Airlines have trudged on a long and arduous road through the coronavirus pandemic, from setting down the majority of the global fleet a year ago to the mirage of a recovery last summer and a second — in some places third — Covid-19 wave this winter.
Now, finally, it looks like the environment in the U.S. has turned a corner. Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are all looking to either break even or generate positive cash flow this month after a year of daily losses. They, and others, are eagerly looking ahead to what is shaping up to be a markedly stronger summer than last for domestic travel.
"Assuming the current bookings trajectory continues, we'd expect core cash burn to be positive going forward," United CEO Scott Kirby said at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference on Monday. However, he acknowledged that there is "still a lot of hard work" ahead, not least in turning positive cash flow into profits. United lost $8.8 billion before taxes in 2020.
The booking inflection point — something airline executives waxed on about in January — seems to have occurred in the past few weeks. The driving factors appear
