United Airlines CEO Thinks Air Travel Demand Will Do This Once There’s a Coronavirus Vaccine

According to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, air travel demand will be soaring as soon as there is a coronavirus vaccine.

According to a CNN article, the executive walked through the airline’s O’Hare airport hub and said it was “surreal” that one of the world’s busiest airports was so quiet. In a video of his walk, United employees ask Kirby what the state of the company is with one ramp worker asking “How are we looking?”

Kirby responds, “We’ve got a tough year ahead until there’s a vaccine. The good news is, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The CEO has been in charge of the airline for just a little over 100 days and has had to do aggressive cost
cuts as the airline has 40% of its fleet grounded and is facing the possibility of slashing 36,000 jobs starting on October 1st.

Kirby believes demand will come roaring back once there’s a vaccine for Covid-19 and has told NBC News, “There’ll be huge pent-up demand for leisure travel, for business travel, for people to get back out on the road.”

According to the Transportation Security Administration, passenger levels are still down 70% compared with the same time a year ago, mainly because leisure travel remains weak. Business travel is also down with corporations cutting budgets and turning to video calls instead.

“Zoom can be a substitute when you can’t be there, but it is not the same as being there in person. I think that it won’t happen overnight, but within a year or two, I do think business travel will come back,” said Kirby.

There is no telling when a coronavirus vaccine will be accessible. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said recently that vaccine doses will likely be in short supply once a candidate is cleared for public distribution in the U.S. “At first, there will likely be a limited supply of one or more of the Covid-19 vaccines, because limited doses will be available,” Redfield said.

“In order to survive this crisis, we’re taking on an awful lot of debt and we’re going to have to pay that back,” Kirby has admitted.

Disclaimer: We have no position in United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL) and have not been compensated for this article.