A Delta Air Lines Airbus A330neo or A330-900 aircraft with a neo-engine option from the European aircraft manufacturer, as seen on the final approach for landing at the Amsterdam Schiphol AMS EHAM International Airport after a long Atlantic flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Hoping to take a European vacation this summer? You may not be lucky.
Borders in much of Europe have been closed for more than a year for most American citizens and vice versa due to the coronavirus pandemic. Airline executives said Thursday they do not expect to open in time for the peak summer season.
Travel industry leaders have urged the Biden administration on a plan to reopen borders, including standards for health documentation, such as evidence of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said in a quarterly call that the company was focused on lifting restrictions that hampered travel between the US and the UK, but that other popular tourist destinations could take longer.
The White House did not immediately comment.
Britain eased its restrictions on closure this week, which could reopen pubs, hairdressers and retailers. France and Italy, on the other hand, last month reintroduced temporary closures to curb new Covid-19 infections, and the spread of vaccines is slow in Europe.
“If you think about other parts of Europe, there are sometimes some markets that are open this summer based on the southern Mediterranean recreational traffic that people will be interested in,” Bastian said. “But I do not think you will see continental Europe in a meaningful way until later in the year. We will probably miss most of continental Europe much of the summer.”
Delta and competitors such as American Airlines and United Airlines said domestic travel had fallen sharply from the depths of the pandemic, but international travel, which still faces a web of access restrictions and a backlog in vaccinations, remains weak.
Delta said on Thursday its domestic passenger revenue fell 66% to $ 2.3 billion in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2019, but trans-Atlantic revenue was 87% lower at $ 142 million, while Trans-Pacific Ocean was down 89% at $ 62 million.
Naples, Italy, vs. Naples, Florida
U.S. transportation companies have refocused their once-extensive global networks on domestic destinations, especially those that offer outdoor attractions such as beaches and mountains. Airlines have added services to tourist hotspots in Florida, Wyoming and Montana. They have also become popular in the beach destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico.
American Airlines, for example, announced on Wednesday that it will bring its summer domestic schedule to almost the same levels as it operated in 2019.
Brian Znotins, vice president of network planning at American Airlines, told CNBC that the demand for European summer vacations will be difficult to generate, even if borders open in the coming season.
“Usually a European holiday is planned months in advance,” he said. ‘People today, if they’re looking for a trip this summer, which a lot of people are, they do not feel very confident about booking a trip to Rome, and that’s why they’re going to make the hotel reservation in Jackson. Cancun. ‘
“You do not expect the question to appear only the day after a country is open, especially from a recreational point of view,” he said.