The airlines have a chance to gather themselves between Memorial Day weekend and the start of summer. But the pent-up demand for travel has gone beyond the usual parameters of the calendar.
Air Travel Pricing
Airfares in the United States are at a historic low despite an increasing number of passengers. In fact, The Transportation Security Administration screened a record number of passengers even before the July 4 holiday.
But other factors can affect pricing. New ecological laws in Europe have affected the pricing at an adverse level for Lufthansa Airlines.
And record heat in the United States is impacting all airlines.
Airline news was also dominated by the strike possibilities for several airlines as they negotiated with their respective flight attendants. Late in June, Alaska Airlines reached a tentative agreement with its flight attendants to avoid a strike. The same could not be said for American Airlines, whose flight attendants have routinely brought up the fact that they are paid abysmally low and find it hard to live in major metro cities.
Of course, American has other problems, as it was accused of racial discrimination.
Boeing Issues Still Linger
But the airlines are still making money. One good example is this United Airlines flight attendant, who created a blockade of sorts to prevent anyone from switching to open seats after the door closes unless they have paid for it.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be a month in aviation without some news from Boeing, although analysts seemed to think that the company is too big to fail. The Federal Aviation Administration also said it was investigating Boeing and Airbus. In a previous, somewhat tacit admission, the FAA accepted blame for a lack of oversight of Boeing.
Boeing’s pace of production has significantly slowed. Allegiant Airlines said it would cut its expectation level for 737 MAX deliveries.
One thing that hasn’t slowed down is unruly passengers. Despite the mitigation of most COVID restrictions, passenger incidents remain alarmingly high.
Another thing that hasn’t slowed down is the speculation about the future of Spirit Airlines in the wake of the failed merger with JetBlue. The carrier said it has no plans to go bankrupt and file for Chapter 11 protection.
Nor would it be a month without another perilously close call, which happened on Southwest Airlines.