It appears that a significant number of travelers have taken heed of warnings by the Centers for Disease Control about holiday travel while Covid cases are rising; airlines have reported increasing cancelations.
CDC’s recommendation last week that families stay at home, limit contacts and especially not travel for Thanksgiving dinners was unusually strong, and appears to have been effective. Robert Isom, president of American Airlines, told a Skift Aviation Forum later in the week that “We’ve seen a dampening of demand. It really is too soon to tell how deep and how long,” and recommended that people follow the CDC guidance.
The same day, United blamed the surge in Covid cases for “deceleration in system bookings and an uptick in cancellations,’ and Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told the Skift forum “It’s certainly possible we’re seeing an impact from that — we just don’t know.”
