Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateApril 23, 2020Coronavirus will force airlines to make familiar asks of pilots...
In the middle of the single most acute crisis to hit the airline business in the history of flying, U.S. airlines are seemingly trapped playing a cascading series of one upmanship games as they chase market share, risking further destabilizing their airlines at a time when the industry’s very survival hangs in the balance.
There are three steps to an airline industry recovery. First, airlines have to return capacity to the sky. Second, passengers need to fill those airplanes. Lastly, the fares those passengers pay must be economically sustainable. The industry has not yet reached the first step.
As we begin 2021, low-cost carriers are in the driver’s seat.
In this TAC Analysis, we revisit the potential re-arrival of a pilot shortage, and how it may quickly become the limiting factor in the recovery. Crucially, while regional airlines were a welcome source of strength during the COVID pandemic, the lack of pilots in the United States could quickly turn the strongest regional jet market on its head. At play are both the near-term effects of staffing flight decks affecting the world, as well as the long-term challenges unique to the United States -- where pilot supply issues have already exposed an acute operational strain on the system.
TAC Analysis details its 2022 forecast in two parts, beginning with an examination of how 2021 unfolded. Domestic U.S. load factors returned to 2019 levels during the summer season, filling the available capacity to the brim. As demand continues to return without sufficient capacity to keep pace, fares have already returned to 2019 levels, a trend expected to continue in 2022.
In this TAC Analysis, we look at both the benefits and the risks of the proposed merger between Spirit and Frontier. We look beyond the traditional metrics to the futures of the airlines, both together and separate, as well as how the combination of the two ultra-low-cost airlines changes the competitive landscape for the remaining U.S. carriers.
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateApril 6, 2022Frontier wins in JetBlue-Spirit dealPurchase a PDF of this analysis...
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateMay 12, 2022The pilot shortage is spreading beyond the regional airlinesPurchase a...
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber HEAR FROM THE AIR CURRENT Leave this field empty if you're human: Within...
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateNovember 8, 2022Trouble is brewing in the global economy – just don’t...
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateDecember 1, 2022Fares tell the tale of seasonality as airports stay packedPurchase...
