What airlines are doing to head off 2021 turbulence
Fewer flights, smaller planes, reduced big-city connections and fare wars are all on the cards
The nightmare year of 2020 brought the airline industry’s first decade of sustained profitability to a shuddering halt. The coronavirus pandemic tore through in a tumultuous, unprecedented way — leaving carriers in a deep hole, along with a constellation of aerospace manufacturers, airports and leasing firms.
2021 is shaping up to be a transition year for an enterprise that takes passengers on the equivalent of 208-million annual trips around the globe. At best, the path ahead will be bumpy, with progress towards a return to travel dependent on the pace of vaccine rollouts, access to capital, government policies and the unpredictability of a virus that’s not yet fully understood...
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