No Stroopwafels, Fancy TV Screens? How U.S. Air Travel May Change Beyond Tackling Health Concerns
Skift Take
Covid-19 will change the flying experience for a long time, as people take precautions to avoid getting sick. But it'll also change flying for another reason. Airlines are taking on considerable debt, and they'll need to cut costs as they try to repay it, at least until revenues improve.
As U.S. airlines navigate the Covid-19 pandemic, it is fashionable to write how the airport and cabin experience will change, in recovery and beyond. Most stories focus on health-related enhancements, such as masks, temperature checks, social distancing, and protection screens separating employees and passengers.
Undoubtedly, these elements will alter the flying airline experience in the short and medium term, but long term, it may be foolish to make predictions. In a rush to restore consumer confidence — and save businesses in distress — airlines have implemented almost every idea they could think of, some based on science, and some not. Eventually, they may streamline to focus on ideas endorsed by epidemiologists.
But another element may change the flying experience just as much. With so few passengers traveling, this is also an economic crisis — the worst in airline history — and travelers should expect airlines to make significant cuts to the passenger experience. T
