Covid impact: Airlines close books on rotten 2020 and so far, 2021 is grim
Just how bad was 2020 for the airline industry? The six biggest US airlines lost USD 34 billion, and Southwest suffered its first full-year loss since Richard Nixon was president and gasoline sold for 36 cents a gallon.
It was a disaster for airlines, worse than 9/11 or the global financial crisis some very small carriers didn’t survive it and the new year is off to a grim start.
On Thursday, Southwest, American and JetBlue reported that they lost a combined USD 3.5 billion in the final three months of the year. All issued dismal revenue outlooks for the current quarter that echoed similar pessimism from Delta, United and Alaska, which posted financial results earlier.
