Airlines to Resume Booking Flights to Full Capacity as COVID-19 Cases Skyrocket

American Airlines and United Airlines have announced that beginning July 1, they will begin to book flights at full capacity. The news comes amid skyrocketing case numbers of COVID-19 in the United States.

Both United and American Airlines said they would continue to provide lenient cancellation and rebooking policies, and will alert flyers prior to boarding if their flight is above capacity.

Why it matters

At the beginning of the pandemic, airlines instilled stricter limits on the capacity of planes to encourage social distancing. The significant decline in demand for flights and loosening cancellation policies meant there were plenty of empty seats to accommodate stricter social distancing requirements.

Air travel is down 80% compared to this time last year, and all major US carriers have cancelled around 50% of their flight schedules to accommodate the decrease in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Airline executives argue that in order to survive, airlines need to begin booking flights at a higher capacity.

American has plenty of planes that have been grounded because of the pandemic, and it has idle pilots and flight attendants who must remain on the payroll through September as a condition of federal financial aid. If a flight will be full, “Why wouldn’t you just put another airplane on?” Tajer asked.

American is adding flights. Including its American Eagle regional subsidiary, the airline has scheduled 3,479 flights for July, a 60% jump over June but still 48% below last July’s schedule.

Airlines have struggled to balance concern about safety during the pandemic with their need to sell tickets. Airline revenue has plummeted since early March, forcing the carriers to rely on billions in federal aid and private borrowing to survive until travel recovers, which might not happen until there is a vaccine.

Frontier Airlines tried to charge passengers extra to guarantee they would be next to an empty middle seat. The budget airline was forced to retreat last month amid accusations that it was trying to profit from people’s fear of contracting a deadly virus.

What to know about COVID-19

The novel coronavirus is a worsening pandemic in the United States. It is a new disease to humans, and therefore there is a significant amount of information about it that we still don't know. Scientists believe the primary mode of transmission for COVID-19 is through air droplets spread from person to person.

The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to follow social distancing guidelines and wear a mask.

June 30, 2020