Brian Sumers

U.S. airlines took tens of billions in government bailouts. Now, many are having trouble delivering basic services to their consumers. It is a bad look, but it does not mean the bailouts were the wrong idea. Whether you like it or not, airlines are special. People rely on them, and the government had no choice.

Ordinarily, an airline might refuse to transport a passenger with Covid-19. But airlines know they need to repatriate crew members who develop Covid-19 abroad. If they do not, crew members might refuse to fly the trips, and airlines would lose revenue.

Air Canada relaunches its Aeroplan program on November 8. But are loyalty programs still relevant amid a global pandemic? An airline executive says they are. We tend to think he's right.

At some point, the U.S. airline industry will have a robust recovery. But given the depth of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is unlikely this will happen next year. Breeze Airways may have a rough go at first.

Under Ed Bastian, Delta Air Lines has taken a prudent approach to managing through this pandemic. The airline is not expecting a recovery for about two years.

Many U.S. airlines will change after the pandemic. But JetBlue may alter its strategy even more than most. Expect JetBlue to continue to use this crisis to gain more of a nationwide footprint.

The CEO of Spirit Airlines is hopeful the carrier can get back to 2019 capacity levels by the end of next year. His airline focuses more on leisure customers than most, so maybe it is possible. But it still seems to be a far-fetched goal.

Delta Air Lines needs cash. Its SkyMiles program is one of its only remaining profitable assets. The airline is being smart in using it to secure new funding.

Not long ago, many U.S. airlines were focused on business travelers. They often neglected the leisure traveler. But Covid-19 changed everything.

In a pandemic, with few people flying, you might think it would be bad business to fly empty airplanes to squat on airport slots. But if that's what is required for airlines to keep access to key airports, they'll probably do it.