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JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes has described coronavirus’ impact on travel as being “as bad as 9/11, if not worse.”
Since the global pandemic began, the industry has taken a massive hit as demand for flights has sharply declined. In a statement JetBlue shared with Fox News, Hayes likened the drop-off to the flight demand directly after the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
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“It’s at least as bad as 9/11, if not worse. If you look at 2001, the industry saw about a 30 percent drop off in demand from the month before – August 2001 to October 2001. Right now, what we're seeing as we go into March and April is something that has dropped off more than that.
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Airlines are continuing to make drastic moves, such as instituting hiring freezes and reducing flights, as demand for flights plummets. (iStock)
“But the difference is we’re going into this in a position of strength with a strong balance sheet and we are taking quick action with flights reductions, temporary leadership pay decreases and broader reduced spending,” he continued.
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Airlines are continuing to make drastic moves, such as instituting hiring freezes and reducing flights, as demand for flights plummets. United Airlines announced Wednesday it would reduce passenger-carry capacity 20 percent on international routes and 10 percent on domestic starting in April. It will also be grounding a number of planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also temporarily waived minimum slot use requirements for airplanes, which stipulated that airlines fill a certain number of "slots" at an airport in order to retain those slots. The FAA's move also aims to reduce the number of “ghost flights” — planes without passengers — that airlines were operating in order to maintain those slots.
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Though the industry is not sure when travel will return to normal, Hayes told CNBC that JetBlue is “very well equipped to cope.”
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