We all might be flying in planes soon

Covid-19 became a pandemic because airplane passengers carried the new coronavirus with them around the world. As that became clear, airlines grounded nearly all of their fleets, governments issued travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines, and tourist attractions and conferences closed down. With no reason to fly, a quick recovery for air travel seemed unlikely. Warren Buffett dumped his airline stocks, claiming that the “world has changed.”
Passengers also wouldn’t feel safe packed inside a metal tube for hours, would they? Happily for the industry, if not for the climate, the seemingly insurmountable barriers to air travel have begun to look less daunting. “We believe the worst is behind us, and we’re on the uptick,” American Airlines Group Inc’s boss, Doug Parker, said after a surge in travel over the US Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Investors have taken notice. The Bloomberg Americas Airlines stocks index has rebounded by almost one-third from the mid-May low, and European carriers have made similar gains. Shares in German tour operator Tui AG have risen too.
Such optimism feels jarring when airlines, American Airlines included, are poised to cut thousands of jobs. Most are still burning huge amounts of cash. Deutsche Lufthansa needs a $10 billion bailout, and Latam Airlines Group
joined Latin American peer Avianca Holdings in filing for bankruptcy.
But Parker is probably right to expect a continued recovery, at least on domestic and short-haul routes. This won’t be enough to put debt-laden airlines on a secure footing, and a full demand recovery probably won’t happen for a couple more years. But, right now, a desperate industry will take any good news it can get. The rigorous hygiene measures airlines have announced should go a long way toward restoring passenger confidence.
European budget carrier Ryanair Holdings expects to operate at 40% of normal capacity from July, and the way bookings are shaping up suggests those planes will probably be at least half full. EasyJet sees “encouraging” trends and notes that winter bookings are higher than usual for this time of year, although part of that may be because people have refund vouchers to use and are rebooking cancelled trips.
Ryanair’s extensive summer flight schedule had seemed premature a couple of weeks ago, but the travel restrictions that kept Europeans from moving around the continent are being relaxed. Starting in July, Spain is set to drop its requirement for international arrivals to quarantine for
14 days. Britain imposed a similar rule but is under
immense pressure to abandon it. Travel between Europe and the US will take longer to open up, but even here there are encouraging signs of political will to get people flying again.

—Bloomberg