Will Delta Bring Out the Bears?

U.S. Airlines Are Bullish on the Recovery Despite Looming Delta Variant Clouds.

Pushing Back: Inside the Issue

Alaska, American and Southwest all reported profits in the June quarter, albeit with the beneficent help of Uncle Sam, with the steady return of U.S. travelers giving them — and United — optimism for the recovery this fall. In fact, all but American think they will be profitable without federal aid in short order. But all that glitters is not necessarily gold with the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant (no relation to the airline) prompting renewed pessimism pretty much everywhere but in these airline C-suites. None of these U.S. carriers, nor Air Canada, saw a need for concern or impact on bookings, while also touting their Boy Scout preparedness in being able to flex capacity down if a slowdown does occur.

Elsewhere in the issue, Italy's new national carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) is set to take off in October. Aeromexico is bullish on its recovery with a deal for 12 more Boeing 737 Maxes less than three months after cutting 24 of the jets from its orderbook. And New York LaGuardia's "backwards AirTrain" is a go though, at least for some deep-pocketed Boston-New York flyers, Tailwind Air's new waterfront-to-waterfront seaplane service may save them a ride.

Verbulence

“We don’t just see the light at the end of the tunnel — we’re exiting the tunnel.”

United CEO Scott Kirby