News for The Americas

Air China filed (04-May-2023) an application with the US Department of Transportation to operate the following China-US services:

• Beijing Capital-New York JFK: Six times weekly with Boeing 747-8/777-300ER equipment from 27-May-2023;
• Shenzhen-Los Angeles: Twice weekly with 777-300ER equipment from 28-May-2023. [more - original PR]

US Travel Association reported (27-Apr-2023) the following consumer insights: 

• 53% of Americans and 81% of American leisure travellers have travel planned in the next six months;
• 52% would travel more for leisure in the next six months if the travel experience was not as much of a hassle;
• 55% want the US Congress to prioritise improvements to the air travel experience;
• 65% of recent air travellers are willing to share biometric information with the US TSA if it reduced the airport security process by 20 minutes;
• Business travellers are expected to take more trips in the next six months as respondents highlighted growing benefits from face-to-face meetings, despite lingering cost constraints and company travel policies;
• Business travel spending is steadily increasing, but budgets remain lower than 2019 levels for all types of business travel. [more - original PR]

Southwest Airlines SVP network planning and network operations control Adam Decaire, speaking at the CAPA Americas Aviation & LCCs Summit, stated (27-Apr-2023) the carrier sees "strong demand" going into 2Q2023 and 3Q2023, with leisure demand "leading the way". Mr Decaire added business demand is "right there [with it] and coming back to 2019 levels".

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) announced (26-Apr-2023) upcoming customer pilots and rollouts for the online booking of Air France and KLM New Distribution Capability (NDC) content across the Neo and Egencia solutions. Amex GBT stated it "has a phased approach to adding NDC content to their marketplace, requiring airlines, distribution systems and online booking tools to meet MMP (minimum marketable product) criteria", which Air France and KLM met in collaboration with Amex GBT and Amadeus. The Neo pilots will be activated in France and the Netherlands, while Egencia will enable NDC connectivity for France. Amex GBT stated it "will continue to work with all partners to expand customer rollout as capabilities mature". [more - original PR]

Delta Air Lines SVP alliances and international Perry Cantarutti, speaking at the CAPA Americas Aviation & LCCs Summit, stated (26-Apr-2023) corporate travel demand has recovered to 70% of pre-pandemic levels. Mr Cantarutti noted that increased leisure demand has "more than offset the softness we see in corporate".

CAPA - Centre for Aviation senior analyst Americas Lori Ranson, speaking at the CAPA Americas Aviation & LCCs Summit, stated (26-Apr-2023) same day business trips currently account for 1% of US traffic, down from 3% to 4% pre-COVID-19.

JetBlue Airways announced (25-Apr-2023) plans to launch daily Boston-Amsterdam service from 20-Sep-2023 with A321LR aircraft. [more - original PR]

JetBlue Airways announced (25-Apr-2023) plans to launch daily New York JFK-Amsterdam service from 29-Aug-2023 with A321LR aircraft. [more - original PR]

American Airlines, via its official website, announced (Apr-2023) plans to resume daily Los Angeles-Auckland service from 21-Dec-2023. Frequency will reduce to three times weekly effective 15-Feb-2024. The carrier also operates a service from Dallas Fort Worth to Auckland, according to OAG. 

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci reported the carrier's corporate travel has recovered to between 50% and 60% of pre-COVID-19, while macro business travel has received to 75% (CNBC News, 20-Apr-2023). Mr Minicucci stated corporate travel is "more depressed" than any other part of the carrier's business, with the staggered recovery a "direct result" of technology company layoffs and travel spending pullbacks. Mr Minicucci noted SMEs are considerably travelling and spending, contributing to the macro recovery.