The latest financial report shows that the Boeing Company of the United States unexpectedly achieved profit in the second quarter, and its earnings per share changed from a loss of US$4.2 in the same period last year to a profit of US$1. Industry insiders believe that this reflects from the side that the global aviation industry is gradually recovering from the impact of the epidemic.
With the introduction of vaccination globally, the epidemic has been brought under certain control. Since the beginning of this year, the demand for air passenger transportation has increased substantially. According to statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), international air passenger traffic has been increasing since March. However, it will not be possible until 2023 at the earliest that the overall volume will return to its pre-epidemic level.
The current recovery of the aviation industry is uneven, and the recovery in Europe and America is relatively stronger than that in the Asia-Pacific region. Statistics from the US Transportation Security Administration show that in early July, the number of people traveling by air in the United States exceeded the level of the same period in 2019 for the first time. The relevant person in charge of United Airlines said that the company’s demand for leisure travel flights has exceeded the level before the epidemic.
Recent data from aviation analysis company OAG shows that North America and Europe have relatively strong demand during the holidays. The recovery efforts of the Asian aviation industry have been frustrated due to the rebound of the epidemic accompanied by drastic lockdown measures. Energy Information Corporation analyst Dix said that the overall number of flights in Asia (including domestic and international) is 70% of the level before the outbreak.
Judging from the situation of various countries, the recovery of domestic flights is faster than the recovery of international flights, and it is also in a state of imbalance. According to IATA data, international passenger demand in June was 80.9% lower than the same period in 2019, while domestic passenger demand was only 22.4% lower.
Fitch analyst Gatdullah said that before the infection rate eases or declines with the widespread use of vaccines, it is unlikely that cross-border air travel will be generally carried out.
In addition, the recovery of different airlines’ businesses is equally uneven. Most of the international long-distance travel and business travel businesses, which contribute most of the revenue from high-priced tickets, have not yet resumed.
Take the United States as an example. Domestic business air tickets in the United States have slightly recovered, but in June they only reached 40% of their pre-epidemic levels. Delta Air Lines CEO Bastian said that it will not be until September that domestic business flight demand in the United States may return to 60% of its 2019 level.
