Business travel won't rescue the airlines
In the past, corporate passengers would step in to fill seats in the fall and winter, but this corner of the market remains stuck at about 25% below 2019 levels
The airlines have long argued that a business travel revival is closely correlated to the amount of time corporate America is spending in office buildings, and mandates on this front have become tougher in recent months, even in the traditionally more flexible technology industry;
The counterpoint to that is that the economic environment has also become tougher for many companies. Travel has always been the ultimate discretionary expense, but the successful migration of many meetings to virtual platforms during the pandemic makes this an even easier bucket to target when cost cuts are the order of the day.
Get the full story at Bloomberg