By Niraj Chokshi
The New York Times
Summer travel is off to a roaring start, with little sign of a slowdown on the horizon. And airline executives say they are doing all they can to keep up, including contending with bad weather and congestion in the skies and on the ground.
Three of the nation’s largest carriers — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines — set records for quarterly revenue in the three months that ended in June. Profits more than doubled from the same period last year, and the three companies raised their projections for how much they would earn this year.
“We’re still in a world where demand is very strong,” Vasu Raja, American’s chief commercial officer, told reporters and investors on a call Thursday.
Here’s why Alaska Airlines flight attendants were picketing at Sea-Tac Airport
The strong quarterly results underscore the durability of the travel industry’s recovery coming out of the pandemic. June was slightly busier than the same month in 2019, and July appears to be on track to match pre-pandemic traffic. The Transportation Security Administration screened nearly 2.9 million people on the Friday before the Fourth of July weekend, the most it has ever handled in a single day.
But the recent recovery has been marred by problems, including delays and cancellations around the country. Airlines say they have taken steps to prevent disruptions, including spending on technology, hiring and training.
Overall, about 1.8% of planned flights were canceled in the two months that ended Tuesday, compared with 1.9% over the same period in 2019. But many more were delayed: about 25% over the past two months, up from about 19% in the same period in 2019.
While domestic travel has been strong for quite some time, airlines say more Americans are traveling overseas. American said passenger revenue from international travel rose nearly 22% from the same quarter last year, while Delta said it set a record for international revenue in the second quarter. United said this week that it would add more flights to Asia in October.
Driven by high demand, a round-trip international flight on average costs about $971, up nearly 24% from prices at this time in 2019. Those rising fares have been good for airlines: Delta, for example, now expects revenue to rise at least 17% this year from last year.
This story was originally published at nytimes.com. Read it here.