American Airlines News

U.S. airlines avoided broad bankruptcies and cuts with the record $74 billion in government Covid-19 aid. But the relief was industry-specific and left out a lot of other sectors, including hotels and restaurants. That has meant a bumpy national economic recovery.

Few are surprised that JetBlue is pulling back on its initial London schedule as U.S.-UK travel restrictions persist. But that's a small concern for the airline that faces big expenses related to its new alliance with American Airlines and a still uncertain recovery outlook.

In Skift’s top stories this week, United sees a potential full recovery in 2022, Kayak launches Kayak for Business, and Canada reopens its borders for fully vaccinated U.S. travelers.

The American versus Sabre lawsuit touches on bigger questions of how to fairly display ticket prices to agencies and consumers. Most tech providers and regulators must face these questions as airlines unbundle and repackage more airfares and upsells.

American likes to tout its strengths from more flights and a broader domestic network when it talks about the recovery. But with higher costs than competitors, it will continue to lag its peers even as some forecast profits in the coming months.

U.S. airlines took tens of billions in government bailouts. Now, many are having trouble delivering basic services to their consumers. It is a bad look, but it does not mean the bailouts were the wrong idea. Whether you like it or not, airlines are special. People rely on them, and the government had no choice.

Did Airbnb, Booking Holdings, Tripadvisor, Oyo, and Marriott, among others, squirm a bit upon learning of Chinese regulators' latest antitrust crackdowns, this time against ridesharing giant Didi and food-delivery and hotel booker Meituan? If not, they should.

In Skift’s top stories this week, the UK opens up more non-essential travel, Reserve with Google is ending, Hawaii's residents say tourism is worth its troubles and American Airlines sues Sabre — again.