U.S. airlines see ‘glimmers of hope’ as bookings improve.
U.S. airlines said Monday that bookings are on the rise and offered some of the first concrete signs that the worst may be over for the industry since the coronavirus pandemic brought air travel to a virtual standstill a year ago.
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Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways said first-quarter revenues would fall to the lower end or less than previously forecast, as the rollout of vaccines accelerates and more people plan vacations or visits to friends and family, Reuters reported.
At a J.P. Morgan conference, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said there are “real glimmers of hope.”
Bastian indicated he was “cautiously optimistic” that the airline could stop its cash burn this spring and use that money for aircraft purchases in the second quarter.
Delta expects its first-quarter revenue decline to be at the low end of its forecast of a 60% to 65% decline from the same quarter in 2019, before the pandemic began.
Southwest on Monday forecast lower first-quarter cash burn and a lower operating income decline for February and March than previously forecast.
JetBlue also forecast a slowdown in its first-quarter revenue decline, projecting a 61% to 64% decline compared with the same period in 2019. It had previously forecast a revenue drop of between 65% and 70%.
By Tracy Rucinski, Editing: Louise Heavens and Paul Simao.
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