An eerie photograph has emerged showing a lone traveler dressed in a hazmat suit aboard a practically empty international Japan Airlines f...
An eerie photograph has emerged showing a lone traveler dressed in a hazmat suit aboard a practically empty international Japan Airlines flight en route to Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The passenger looks out the window surrounded by rows of empty seats, illustrating how the airline industry has buckled to its knees as the virus crisis has locked down countries and limited travel.
The photograph, snapped on April 15, also depicts the great security measures those brave enough to travel take to protect themselves against the contagious COVID-19.
Internationally the airline industry is taking a major hit in the economic crisis spurred by the pandemic which has seen airline demand shrink to essentially zero, airport traffic in the US to plunge by 95 percent and airlines to lose billions of dollars.
An eerie photograph has emerged showing a lone traveler dressed in a hazmat suit aboard a practically empty international flight from Japan Airlines flight en route to Los Angeles on April 15 amid the coronavirus pandemic
Analysts anticipate airline earnings to decline by more than 200 percent for the first quarter and for airlines to lose billions in losses – a stark contrast to the $1.8billion first-quarter profit a year ago, as per CNN.
The number of people being screened by TSA at US airports is down 95 percent in April compared with last year, following a 51 percent drop in March.
The loss in business has led airlines to slash their schedules in May by as much as 90 percent.
Congress has approved $25billion in grants and low interest loans for the airline industry under the condition the companies do not implement any involuntary layoffs, furloughs or pay cuts for their 750,000 employees through the end of September.
The first round of checks from that pool – that totaled to a whopping $2.9billion, were issued on Monday.
The Association of Flights Attendants, a major airline union, is trying to mandate masks for passengers and crew aboard all flights and for a temporary ban on leisure travel.
A passenger waits for his baggage at the practically empty Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta on April 23
In this April 21 photo, a lone person works at the Delta airlines check-in desk at McCarran International airport in Las Vegas, Nevada
United Airlines said that demand for travel has diminished to 'essentially zero', leading the airline to launch massive cuts as officials predict the decline in demand will extend into 2021.
'Travel demand is essentially zero and shows no sign of improving in the near-term,' executives wrote in a memo on April 15.
'Less than 200,000 people flew with us during the first two weeks of April this year, compared to more than 6 million during the same time in 2019, a 97 percent drop. And we expect to fly fewer people during the entire month of May than we did on a single day in May 2019.'
United has warned investors that its first-quarter net loss will come to $2.1billion, while its operating loss will be $1billion.
Last week Southwest Airlines reported that shares have fallen 47 percent this year, and Southwest is easily the best performing stock among major U.S. airlines.
'Traffic is virtually zero' and if it doesn't improve by July, 'we will have to prepare ourselves for a drastically smaller airline,' Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said.
Kelly said that the airline is burning through cash at 'an alarming rate', but didn't give official figures.
Last week some airlines announced plans to reapply for government aid under the $2.2trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, according to Market Watch.
On Monday United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines disclosed plans to increase the among of aid they requested from the government.
United said on April 15 it anticipated to receive about $5billion from the government through the Payroll Support Program under the CARES Act. On Monday the company said it expects to borrow up to an additional $4.5billion through the CARES Act’s loan program.
According to current share prices, taxpayers could own roughly a little more than $1billion worth of airline shares – not including JetBlue Airways Corp.
American Airlines Group Inc said it expects to receive $5.8billion under the CARES Act. Delta Airlines Inc said it reached a deal to receive $5.4billion under the CARES Act. Southwest expects more than $3.2billion in government aid under the Act.
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