Travelers at LaGuardia Airport in New York on June 30, 2022.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
While the airline industry has been in the spotlight lately for a series of safety issues, airline executives say there’s no sign of demand for flights slowing.
united airlines “as an airline and as an industry” it will carry record numbers of travelers this summer, the carrier’s Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said on an earnings call Wednesday.
“Demand continues to be strong and we are seeing a record spring and summer season with the 11 highest selling days in our history all occurring this calendar year,” said Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian. in a phone call from his company a week earlier. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines the results of the report on April 25.
Air travel demand has been resilient despite persistent inflation that has weighed on household budgets, as well as a series of high-profile security issues that have sparked congressional hearings and become the talk of the town from late-night TV to TikTok.
Public and regulatory scrutiny of the industry increased after exiting the door outlet Boeing 737 Max 9 in January. This triggered a new safety crisis for Boeing and slowed deliveries of new planes to airlines.
United Airlines itself is undergoing a safety review with the Federal Aviation Administration after several incidents this year, including a tire falling off one of its older Boeing 777s.
Airlines, which make most of their money in the spring and summer, are also grappling with higher fuel and labor costs, with new contracts giving pilots and other workers big raises after years of stagnant wages.
Nevertheless, demand for international travel and a recovery in corporate travel helped boost global carriers. Both Delta and United’s second-quarter forecasts beat Wall Street estimates. Customers seem willing to pay for first class and other cabins above standard coach, executives said.
Nocella said on Wednesday’s earnings call that the airline could further segment the front of the plane, just as United and other airlines have done with coach. “You have multiple groups of people working on how to further innovate and provide more and more choice and monetize that choice on our behalf, obviously, going forward,” he said.
Delta, meanwhile, said premium revenue growth has outpaced standard coach sales for years.
Delta, United and American have announced upgraded first- and business-class cabins, as well as more and larger lounges to accommodate large numbers of travelers willing to pay for higher-priced tickets or high-rewards credit cards.
Delta is set to open a new, more exclusive tier of airport lounges later this year.
Domestically focused low-cost airlines are scheduled to report results in the coming weeks. Some of these carriers have struggled in recent months due to higher capacity, limited aircraft availability and higher costs.