The carrier also is preparing for a more “muted” uptick in business travel into the fourth quarter, but isn’t yet ready to change its financial guidance, Vasu Raja, American’s chief revenue officer, said Wednesday at an industry conference.
The comments add to mounting evidence that higher caseloads threaten to derail a U.S. travel recovery. Southwest Airlines Co. said on Aug. 11 that the decline in demand tied to the coronavirus resurgence may make it difficult to report a profitable third quarter, while JetBlue Airways Corp., Spirit Airlines Inc. and Frontier Airlines also have commented on softening demand and canceled bookings. Summer travel demand peaks this month.
“This has been, and we expect will continue to be, a very choppy recovery,” Raja said at the Raymond James Financial Inc. conference.
