New numbers from the International Air Transport Association show persisting pain within the commercial aviation industry. IATA predicts a worldwide net profit loss of $84 billion for 2020, with North American carriers losing $23.1 billion of that.
Even with cash assistance, domestic airlines have had to commit to cost-cutting in sheer desperation. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are retiring fleets, some of which had years of profitability left in them, assuming a demand environment of just five or six months ago. Years of pilot shortages evolved into a surplus overnight, with the major players offering some pretty good early-out packages.
Players on other continents have suffered with even more consequence. Lufthansa and Emirates both announced massive layoffs in recent days, despite a cash infusion for Lufthansa and prevenient state-ownership of Emirates. It all means that government presence doesn’t guarantee salvation.
Fewer airplanes, fewer destinations, and with less frequency, fewer options: These are, and will for some time, continue to be, a shared plight of participants in commercial aviation. Now is a perfect occasion for everyone to recognize how great they once had it.
Since its birth as a platform of complaint, an unquantified but perceptibly more-than-meager percentage of travelers have taken to social media to go after the airline that “didn’t give me a hotel” or “lost my bag,” or to defame the airport where “I always miss my connection.” Seemingly everyone has been angry at an airline for one of these reasons.
Op-eds early in the virus crisis entertained a notion that airlines deserve to go bankrupt because they didn’t save enough money for a “rainy day.” A pandemic is a Category 5 hurricane.
At least one asked, “Am I a bad person for not caring if the airlines go bankrupt?” while explaining airlines have been “punishing their customers for years now with constantly decreasing levels of service, increasingly tiny seats, disappearing legroom and overbooked flights.”
What a senseless point of view.
The airlines aren’t without spots, but they provide a service and, it turns out, are quite good at doing it.
Passenger access to commercial airline travel has been rising steadily since 2003, with the exception of the 2008-2010 recession years (and 2020, obviously). Nearly 800 million people flew on U.S.-scheduled, domestic, and international airline flights in 2003. That number rose to well over 1 billion in 2019.
With 10 or so airlines in the mix, passengers have many choices with whom to fly and where to fly. The major-regional airline model gives more people access to smaller and otherwise unserved domestic markets. Also, the several alliances formed among domestic and international carriers ensure access to virtually the entire globe, allowing people to go from places like Columbia, South Carolina, to Baku, Azerbaijan, in two days.
It has never been cheaper to fly on an airplane. Low-cost carriers offer an option to casual and cash-strapped fliers, and to those who just like a deal. Moreover, they are a price-lowering force for the industry.
The extent of devastation this virus caused for airlines is nearly inarticulable. With load factors and finances in the red, the virus has and will continue to cost jobs. It will also reduce the access to the world we have all been enjoying, in the form of vacation and business and family visits. If not grateful to airlines themselves, be grateful they exist and be grateful for the market that created them.
