After several turbulent days, flight disruptions ease despite worries about 5G signals
Airline passengers who have endured tens of thousands of weather-related flight delays this week got a welcome respite from the headaches Saturday, despite concerns about possible disruptions being caused by new wireless 5G systems rolling out near major airports.
Airlines, cruise lines and hotel stocks fall on virus fears
Air travel in the United States hit another pandemic-era record over the weekend as vacationers jammed airports, but shares of airlines, cruise lines, hotels and almost anything else related to travel are tumbling on growing concerns about highly contagious variants of coronavirus.
Under pressure, some Ga. corporate leaders slam voting bill
The sweeping rewrite of Georgia's election rules that was signed into law by Republican Gov. AdThe reaction wasnโt much friendlier from voting rights groups that fought the legislation and criticized corporate players for not trying to block it altogether. Quincey noted on CNBC that Coca-Cola, even before Georgia's action, already had paused its PAC activity and would consider politicians' position on voting rights as part of future contributions. Bishop Reginald Jackson, who presides over more than 400 African Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia, said too many corporate leaders have been โsilentโ on voting laws. Civil rights groups have filed federal lawsuits seeking to overturn the Georgia law.
Airlines return to old ways; Southwest drops boarding change
Delta is the only airline still blocking middle seats, but there's no guarantee that'll continue past April 30. Southwest Airlines has gone back to boarding passengers in lots of 30. Southwest and several other airlines that once blocked middle seats now sell out flights if they can. The last holdout is Delta Air Lines, which has extended empty middle seats through April 30. Tuesday marked the 13th straight day that more than 1 million passengers went through U.S. airport checkpoints, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
US airlines adding jobs, extending rebound from October low
The Transportation Department said Tuesday, March 9, 2021, that the airline industry employed 713,949 people full-time or part-time in January. Cargo airlines have added jobs while passenger airlines have shed workers, mostly through incentives for workers to quit or take early retirement. The Transportation Department said Tuesday that 713,949 people held full-time or part-time jobs at airlines in mid-January, up from 694,638 in December and the low of 673,278 in October. American Airlines eliminated 8,700 jobs, or 8% of its workers, and Southwest shed more than 4,600 jobs, or 7.5%. FedEx's express-delivery division grew by about 24,000 jobs, or 9.8%, United Parcel Service added 183 jobs, or 2.9%, in its air-shipment business, and smaller cargo carriers such as Atlas Air also added jobs, according to the Transportation Department.
Airlines push White House to reject testing for US flights
U.S. airlines are pressing their case against requiring coronavirus testing of passengers on domestic flights. The CEOs of several major airlines met Friday, Feb. 12, with the White House's coronavirus-response coordinator to lobby against a testing requirement. They say it would further undermine air travel, which is still running at less than half its pre-pandemic level. Airlines reacted with alarm, however, when CDC officials raised the possibility of testing the much larger number of passengers on domestic flights. Airline unions have joined the push against testing domestic passengers.
Delta Air Lines to leave middle seats empty through April
People wait in line at a Delta Air Lines gate at San Francisco International Airport during the coronavirus pandemic in San Francisco, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. Delta Air Lines said Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 it will continue to block some seats on all flights through spring break and Easter to provide a bit more space between passengers. Delta said it will block middle seats in most cabins although groups of three or more passengers can choose to sit together. Delta said it will block middle seats in most cabins although groups of three or more passengers can choose to sit together. During the early days of the pandemic, several U.S. airlines blocked middle seats, although United Airlines never did.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian discusses testing, summer 'surge'
FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2019 file photo, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian talks at the new $3.9 billion Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Bastian says travel demand will be weak for the next couple months, but he's holding onto hope for a summer surge " in 2021. Q: How much international travel do you expect this summer? Q: How important is testing passengers for COVID-19 to allow more international travel? Weโre seeing some revenue improvement ... and I donโt think thatโs a big step to go from $12 million a day to break-even.
United Airlines shares lose altitude after weak 1Q forecast
FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2020, file photo, a United Airlines airplane takes off over another United plane on the runway at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco. United also gave a slightly more pessimistic first-quarter outlook than rival Delta Air Lines did just last week. The January-through-March period is a slow time for air travel even in normal years, but United said first-quarter revenue will be down 65% to 70% from a year ago. That prediction was five points worse than Delta forecast and implied no real improvement over Unitedโs fourth quarter. Except for around Thanksgiving and Christmas, U.S. air travel has stubbornly remained down more than 60% from a year earlier.
A $12 billion loss for 2020, Delta is cautious in early 2021
FILE - In this May 14, 2020 file photo, several dozen mothballed Delta Air Lines jets are parked on a closed runway at Kansas City International Airport in Kansas City, Mo. Delta Air Lines is reporting a $755 million loss for the fourth quarter, which brings its loss for all of 2020 to more than $12 billion. Delta on Thursday reported a quarterly loss of $755 and $12.4 billion in losses for all of 2020. So far in January, air travel in the U.S. is down nearly 60% from a year ago. Helped by two rounds of government aid, plus billions more from issuing new debt, Delta ended 2020 with $16.7 billion in liquidity.
Asian shares mixed following Biden speech, Wall St retreat
Asian shares were mixed on Friday after a late slide in several Big Tech stocks left major indexes lower on Wall Street. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)Asian shares were mixed on Friday after a late slide in several Big Tech stocks left major indexes lower on Wall Street. U.S. futures were trading slightly lower after President-elect Joe Biden announced his plans to propose a $1.9 billion package to help along a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Biden's coronavirus plan would include $1,400 checks for individuals, on top of $600 provided in the last COVID-19 bill. The plan would also extend a temporary boost in unemployment benefits and a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures through September.
Arbitrator rules that FAA chief aided retaliation case
The FAA declined to comment on the ruling, instead pointing to Dicksonโs past comments on the case, including that he wasnโt deeply involved in it. The pilot, Karlene Petitt sued Atlanta-based Delta in a Labor Department administrative proceeding in 2016. The judge said Delta failed to produce evidence of any shortcomings in Petittโs performance as a pilot. Dickson, a former pilot, was Deltaโs senior vice president of flight operations when Petitt raised her concerns. Dickson said in his deposition that Petitt โraised some important issues,โ but he disputed her claim that Delta pressured pilots to fly when tired.
US tightens definition of service animals allowed on planes
It decided that only dogs can fly as service animals, and companions that passengers use for emotional support don't count. The number of animals on planes took off several years ago, and a cottage industry grew around providing papers, doctor's notes and even dog vests for support animals. Delta Air Lines says it carried about 250,000 animals including service dogs in 2017 and about 600,000 last year. Airlines can require that service dogs to be leashed at all times, and they can bar dogs that show aggressive behavior. The Transportation Department stood by an earlier decision to prohibit airlines from banning entire dog breeds as service animals.