Airlines are looking forward to their best year since the start of the pandemic, despite surging fuel prices that will make it more expensive to fly, The Hill reported. Industry executives touted an explosion of bookings and expressed optimism that carriers’ worst days are behind them. The top airlines are enjoying a huge bump in demand as low numbers of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. boost traveler confidence. Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein said that the company is seeing an “unparalleled” increase in demand, revealing that the airline experienced its best day of sales in its 100-year history last week. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said that the Texas-based carrier had multiple days of sales that were 15 percent higher than it’s ever had. Last month, domestic flight bookings surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time, according to a recent report from Adobe Digital Insights. Travelers spent $6.6 billion on flights in February, an increase of 6 percent from the same month in 2019. However, the Adobe report showed that the bump in bookings coincided with higher prices, with customers spending 5 percent more on tickets last month than they did before the pandemic. Experts say that higher demand will hike prices, particularly because airlines aren’t seating as many passengers as they were before the pandemic.
