JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes told CNBC on Tuesday that he is hopeful that the deployment of coronavirus vaccines will help start the demand for air travel around the world, and based on his experience with his own family.
“I called my mother in the UK just before she came to the show. She just got her covid vaccinated today,” Hayes said of the “closing bell.” “She is already planning her trip to see me and her grandchildren in 2021. There are millions of people like her around the world,” he said, calling the Covid-19 vaccine a “game changer for everyone.” “
The airline industry has been hit hardest by the epidemic, which has led to health and economic crises. While air travel has improved since its coronavirus-era lows in the spring, traffic levels are significantly lower at 2019 levels. On Monday, for example, 752,451 people passed through TSA security checkpoints, compared to 2,250,386 on the same weekday last year, according to U.S. government data.
However, the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccination is expected to lead to a more complete economic recovery in 2021, especially in the areas of travel and hospitality. Pfizer and bayonet tech vaccines began to be administered in the UK last week and in the US this week.
Supply is limited at first, but production capacity is expected to grow significantly next year, with more people being vaccinated. Dr. who led the Trump administration’s vaccine efforts. Monsef Sloui said that by June, every American could be vaccinated against Covid-19.
For JetBlue, in particular, Hayes said he is confident of the company’s decision to start offering trans-Atlantic flights to London next month.
“We really think that starting flights from next summer to London will be done with really full time.” “It may be less business travelers than usual, but I think the price point we’re going to come up with will create our new mint, or premium, experience that will also be very accessible to many leisure travelers.”
“We’re seeing a huge improvement in our leisure business by the end of next year. We think business travel will take a little longer but only 15% to 20% of the time we fly.” “And we’ve been able to reclaim that much capacity in new leisure markets.”
Although Hayes expects flight demand to improve during 2021, New York City-based airlines continue to take steps to curb costs. CNBC reported last week that the pay cuts for top executives will continue until next year and will stop raising merit for most employees.
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