The month of June is
usually just a ‘tweener month in aviation.
Usually.
The airlines have a
chance to gather themselves between Memorial Day weekend and the start of
summer. But the pent-up demand for travel has gone beyond the usual parameters
of the calendar.
Air Travel Pricing
Airfares in the United
States are
at a historic low despite an increasing number of
passengers. In fact, The Transportation Security Administration screened
a record number of passengers even before the July 4
holiday.
But other factors can
affect pricing. New ecological laws in Europe have
affected the pricing at an adverse level for Lufthansa
Airlines.
And record heat in the
United States is
impacting all airlines.
Airline news was also
dominated by the strike possibilities for several airlines as they negotiated
with their respective flight attendants. Late in June, Alaska
Airlines reached a tentative agreement with its flight
attendants to avoid a strike. The same could not be said for American
Airlines, whose flight attendants have routinely brought up the fact that they
are paid abysmally low and find it hard to live in major
metro cities.
Of course, American has
other problems, as it was accused
of racial discrimination.
Boeing Issues Still Linger
But the airlines are still making money. One good example is this United Airlines flight attendant, who created a blockade of sorts to prevent anyone from switching to open seats after the door closes unless they have paid for it.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be a month in aviation without some news from Boeing, although analysts seemed to think that the company is too big to fail. The Federal Aviation Administration also said it was investigating Boeing and Airbus. In a previous, somewhat tacit admission, the FAA accepted blame for a lack of oversight of Boeing.
Boeing’s pace of production has significantly slowed. Allegiant Airlines said it would cut its expectation level for 737 MAX deliveries.
One thing that hasn’t
slowed down is unruly passengers. Despite the mitigation of most COVID
restrictions, passenger incidents remain
alarmingly high.
Another thing that hasn’t
slowed down is the speculation about the future of Spirit Airlines in the wake
of the failed merger with JetBlue. The carrier said it has no plans to go bankrupt
and file for Chapter 11 protection.
Nor would it be a month without another perilously close call, which happened on Southwest Airlines.
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