What you need to know: Airline operations: North America - BCD Travel
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BCD Travel
Research and Intelligence
What you need to know: Airline operations: North America
April 7, 2020
As demand declines and governments around the world restrict travel, airlines are adjusting their
operations and, in some cases, suspending all services.
This report summarizes what airlines in North America are doing and planning.
Canada
Airline Action and plans
Air Canada Q2 2020 capacity cut by 50%
International destinations cut to six during April
Transborder network reduced to 13 airports by April 1
Air Transat European flights suspended until end of April
Harbour Air All scheduled flights suspended until May 4
Porter Airlines All operations suspended from March 20 until June 1
WestJet 50% cut in domestic operations from March 23 to April 23. Full suspension of all
international operations over same period, including transborder services
Air Canada suspending most international flights and destinations
Air Canada will reduce total capacity by 50% during the second quarter of 2020.
The airline will gradually suspend most international flights by the end of March, while maintaining a few
routes to help Canadian citizens return home. These “air bridges” will operate between one or more of
Air Canada’s Canadian hubs and London, Paris, Frankfurt, Delhi, Tokyo and Hong Kong from April 1 until
at least April 30. Its international network will shrink from 101 airports to just six.
By April 1, Air Canada plans to reduce its transborder network to the U.S. from 53 airports to 13,
depending on further reductions based on demand or government border controls.
The airline intends to reduce its domestic network from 62 airports to 40 through April, but it aims to
continue serving all of the country’s provinces and territories.
Air Transat suspending European flights
Air Transat is gradually suspending its flights to Europe until the end of April. 1 Over the next two weeks,
Air Transat will continue to operate repatriation flights. The airline is continuing to sell flights in both
directions between Toronto and London to help travelers return home. Air Transat has yet to confirm
when it will halt all flights.
1
Breaking Travel News, March, 19, 2020
COVID 19 – Airline operations – North America| April 7, 2020 | Page 1BCD Travel
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Harbour Air
British Columbia-based commuter airline Harbour Air ceased all scheduled flights from March 27. It does
not expect to resume services until May 4. It will continue charter flying.
Porter Airlines closes down until June
From the end of operations on March 20, regional airline Porter Airlines will temporarily suspend all
flights. It currently plans to resume operations from June 1. 2 It waived change and cancellation fees for
all flights to assist passengers needing to get home.
WestJet suspends all international services; halves domestic schedule
WestJet Airlines will suspend all commercial international and transborder flights (to Mexico and the
U.S.) from March 23 for 30 days. 3 WestJet is also reducing its domestic flight schedule by 50% over the
same period.
International and transborder tickets are no longer available for sale during the 30-day period.
Mexico
Airline Action and plans
Aeromexico 40% reduction in European schedule from March 17 until the end of April
Volaris April capacity cut by 80%
Aeromexico reduces European operations, with more cuts likely
Running from March 17 until April 30, Aeromexico has reduced the frequency of its European flights by
40%. 4 Route reductions from Mexico City include: Madrid, from 17 to seven flights; Barcelona, from five
to three; Paris, from 11 to seven; London, from seven to five; and Amsterdam, also from seven to five
weekly flights.
Bigger cuts could be on their way, with reports suggesting a 35% reduction in domestic capacity and a
50% cut in all international capacity. 5 Aeromexico will need to ground 40 aircraft immediately.
Volaris cuts April capacity by 80%
Low-cost carrier Volaris initially cut capacity by 50% from the last week of March, intending to continue
the cuts through April. With the Mexican government’s March 31 announcement of a month-long health
emergency, Volaris raised its April capacity cuts to 80%.
2
Toronto CTV News, March 18, 2020
3 CTV News, March 17, 2020
4
Mexico Daily News, March 16, 2020
5 New York Times, March 19, 2020
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U.S.
Airline Action and plans
Alaska Airlines 80% capacity cut for April-May
Allegiant 30-35% cut in capacity in April and May
American Airlines International capacity cut by 80-90% in April and May. Domestic capacity reduced by
60-70% in April and 70-80% in May
Delta Air Lines 70% systemwide capacity cut until demand starts to recover
Hawaiian Airlines Most international and U.S. mainland flights suspended
JetBlue April and May capacity cut of at least 40%
Southwest Airlines Domestic capacity reduced by 20% in April and more than 40% from May 3 until June
5. International flights suspended until May 4
Spirit Airlines Capacity cut by 20% in April and by 25% in May
United Airlines April schedule includes a 67% cut in domestic flying, the suspension of Canadian
services and a 90% reduction in international flights
Alaska Air cuts 80% of flights
Alaska Air Group, parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, initially reduced its April capacity by
10%, rising to 15% in May. It promised to monitor demand and reduce capacity on a rolling 15-day basis
as needed. By March 26, with demand down by more than 80%, Alaska Airlines deepened its capacity
reduction to 70% for both April and May. 6 By April 6, the airline amended the figure to 80% for both
months. Adjustments to the June schedule will depend on demand, but the airline expects substantial
capacity cuts to continue for some months.
Allegiant to cut April and May capacity by around one third
Las Vegas-based leisure carrier Allegiant Air increased capacity cuts planned for April and May from the
15% previously announced to 30-35% as travel declined. Ending 2019 with $1.4 billion in debt and $473
million in cash, Allegiant is considered to be under more pressure than some other airlines to reduce
costs. 7
American Airlines makes heavy cuts to domestic and international capacity
American Airlines has suspended 60% of its capacity in April, increasing to up to 80% in May. 8
The airline initially planned for domestic capacity to be 20% lower in April and 30% lower in May. It has
now increased these figures to 60-70% for April and 70-80% for May. The FAA’s decision to grant
additional flexibility in slot-use policies at U.S. airports is one factor behind the sudden sharp increase in
domestic capacity cuts.
As part of its domestic cuts, American has suspended all flights to Kona, Lihue and Maui in Hawaii in
response to a 14-day quarantine order for travelers flying to the state. The airline continues to operate
one daily flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu.
6 Business Travel News, March 26, 2020
7
Cirium, March 19, 2020
8 American Airlines, March 27, 2020
COVID 19 – Airline operations – North America| April 7, 2020 | Page 3BCD Travel
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American is also reducing international capacity by 80-90% in both April and May. During this time, it
plans to operate a single daily flight each from Dallas and Miami to London Heathrow, as well as three
flights per week from Dallas Fort Worth to Tokyo. American has suspended most flights from New York
JFK, Miami and Dallas to cities across South America.
American currently plans to restore most suspended international routes on either June 4 or July 7,
although services from Miami to Buenos Aires, Santiago and Sao Paulo are currently scheduled to
resume earlier on May 7. 9
American has warned that it will suspend more than 60% of its total international capacity this summer. 9
This includes an 80% reduction in Pacific capacity, 65% on Transatlantic services and a 48% cut to Latin
America. The changes reflect significantly decreased demand compounded by government travel
restrictions.
Previously announced new services from Philadelphia to Casablanca, Chicago to Krakow, and Seattle to
Bangalore will be delayed to 2021. The launch of new winter seasonal flights from Los Angeles to
Christchurch and from Dallas Fort Worth to Auckland have been put back a year to October 2021. Start
dates for other routes to Asia and Europe will also be delayed.
Delta Air Lines reduces system capacity by 70%
Delta Air Lines has cut capacity across its system by 70%, citing a significant drop in demand following
March 13’s declaration of a national emergency in the U.S. International flying will be cut by more than
80% over the next two to three months. 10
• After significantly reducing service to most of Europe, Delta now only operates daily services
from Atlanta to Amsterdam and London, and from Detroit to Amsterdam.
• In Asia Pacific, Delta continues to fly reduced services to Tokyo from Atlanta, Detroit, Honolulu
and Seattle; to Nagoya and Osaka from Honolulu; and to Seoul from Detroit and Seattle.
Frequency reductions and route suspensions (including all services to China) will continue until
the end of May.
• Delta has scaled back its Caribbean operations to daily services from Atlanta and San Juan and
from New York JFK to Santo Domingo. It also continues to fly to St. Thomas from Atlanta.
• Delta has reduced its Mexican operation, maintaining daily services from Atlanta to Cancun and
Mexico City, flights from Los Angeles to Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, and from Salt Lake City to
Mexico City.
• Flights to Canada are operating under a reduced schedule linking Atlanta with Toronto, Detroit
with Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, Minneapolis with Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and
Winnipeg, New York JFK with Montreal and Toronto, and Seattle with Vancouver.
Cash preservation is now the airline’s priority. The company has deferred aircraft deliveries, imposed a
25-50% pay cut among senior management, parked more than 600 aircraft (approximately half of its
fleet) and accelerated the retirement of older aircraft. More than 10,000 employees have also taken
voluntary leave.
9
American Airlines, April 2, 2020
10
Business Travel News, March 19, 2020
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Hawaiian Airlines cuts 40% of flights in April
Hawaiian Airlines had planned to cut 40% of its flights in April, including international routes and those to
the rest of the U.S. The airline has already suspended flights to Auckland through May and services to
Brisbane and Sydney through April because of travel restrictions imposed in New Zealand and Australia.
Flights to Tahiti, French Polynesia, ceased from March 21, for similar reasons, but should resume in May.
Hawaiian has also adjusted its Japanese network, scaling back flights to Osaka between April 6 and 28,
and to Fukuoka between April 5 and June 1. It has already suspended Tokyo Haneda services until at
least the end of April, while flights to Sapporo will not resume until July.
After the state of Hawaii imposed a 14-day quarantine on arrivals, Hawaiian Airlines made further
adjustments to its international schedule. 11 From April 1, it reduced its mainland U.S. services to daily
flights from Honolulu to Los Angeles and San Francisco, with Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle among
the destinations losing service. Hawaiian has also temporarily suspended service from Honolulu to
American Samoa.
A stay-at-home order applying to Hawaiians until the end of April has also persuaded Hawaiian Airlines
to scale back its inter-island services.
JetBlue capacity cut by 40% over next two months
After a very tough few weeks of falling demand, JetBlue has cut capacity by 40% in April and May. 12
Average daily sales have fallen below $4 million per day, while credits issued for cancelled bookings have
risen to $20 million daily. To reduce costs, the airline is cutting executive pay, offering voluntary unpaid
time off, and may implement further capacity reductions over the summer.
JetBlue expects to make further substantial cuts to its schedule in June and July.
Southwest Airlines lowers capacity by 20%, then 40%
With a mostly domestic network, Southwest’s business has been less affected than its competitors. But
with cancellations outpacing bookings, it initially decided to lower capacity by 20% between April 14 and
June 5. Most cuts will be in markets where Southwest has four or more non-stop flights. It also decided
to suspend all international services until May 4.
On March 24, Southwest decided to bring forward its capacity reductions, announcing the cancellation of
1,500 of its 4,000 daily flights running from March 27 until April 14, when the next round of capacity cuts
are set to begin. 13
Southwest subsequently decided to deepen its capacity cuts to more than 40% from May 3 through June
5. 14 This reduces its schedule to approximately 2,000 flights per day, with the reductions applied almost
uniformly across its operation.
Southwest presently intends to continue flying to all domestic destinations, maintaining nearly every city
pair in its domestic schedule prior to the pandemic. Some journeys that had been non-stop may now
require a technical stop or a connection. The airline continues to evaluate further reductions.
11
Hawaiian Airlines, April 2, 2020
12 JetBlue, March 18, 2020
13
Business Travel News, March 24, 2020
14 Southwest Airlines, March 31, 2020
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Spirit Airlines increases capacity cuts to 20-25%
Ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines had previously announced a 5% cut in capacity, but it will now reduce
capacity by 20% in April and by 25% in May. As governments limit air travel, demand and load factors are
falling. So far, 10 countries served by Spirit have required airlines to reduce or stop operations
completely. Lower fares have failed to maintain volume.
To adjust for the lack of demand, Spirit will convert some flights from non-stop into connecting services.
United Airlines cuts April schedule by 78%
United Airlines planned to cut its April schedule by 68%, including a 52% reduction in domestic services.
By April 8, it had deepened the cuts to 78% and 67% respectively.
In the domestic segment it has suspended all flights between the mainland and Hawaii except a daily San
Francisco-Honolulu operation. 15 United has also suspended mainland domestic routes from its hubs at
Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Newark, Washington Dulles, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, but it has so
far cut all service to just two Californian markets: Mammoth Lakes and Stockton. The airline is
monitoring demand and changes in curfews and restrictions and will adjust its schedule accordingly.
Because of the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the New York/New Jersey region, United cut daily departures
from Newark Liberty International on April 5 from 139 to just 15, shrinking its network from 62
destinations to nine. 16 At the same time, it also reduced LaGuardia operations from 18 daily flights to just
two. The network adjustments remain in place for at least three weeks.
United has cut its international schedule by 90% in April, continuing daily operations on just six routes: 17
• Newark to Frankfurt, London and Tel Aviv
• Houston to Sao Paolo
• San Francisco to Tokyo Narita and Sydney
In the transborder market, United suspended all flying to Canada from April 1, but it maintains a small
number of flights to Mexican destinations.
Note
The COVID-19 situation is rapidly evolving, and the situation is changing on almost an hourly basis. The
information presented in this report represents the latest view as of April 7, 2020.
Do you have questions or comments regarding this report? Please email mike.eggleton@bcdtravel.co.uk
to share your thoughts.
15 United Airlines, April 2, 2020
16
Cirium, April 6, 2020
17 United Airlines, March 25, 2020
COVID 19 – Airline operations – North America| April 7, 2020 | Page 6You can also read
