U.S. airline executives yesterday pointed to concrete signs of a domestic leisure travel recovery as a slowing pandemic drives spring and summer bookings, pushing shares to their highest level since the coronavirus crisis hit the sector a year ago, Reuters reported. “We certainly are seeing the beginning of what feels like a very large uptick,” said American Airlines Chief Executive Doug Parker, one of several CEOs speaking at a J.P. Morgan conference. Ted Christie, CEO of budget carrier Spirit Airlines, said the recovery appeared to “have legs.” Executives cited data showing that U.S. COVID-19 vaccinations are accelerating and have outstripped the number of positive cases, which are on the decline. Airline shares started dropping dramatically on Feb 21, 2020, as the pandemic spread, reaching a low on May 14 and gradually increasing since then to the current high. United Airlines expects to halt its cash burn in March, CEO Scott Kirby said, the first major carrier to say it could hit the industry’s milestone. In January, United said an average daily core cash burn of $19 million in the fourth quarter would likely continue in the beginning of 2021.
