Airport Experience News Fall 2022

In mid-October, Delta Air Lines Ed Bastian heralded the strong summer 2022 travel months and struck a note of optimism despite inf lationary pressures, ongoing labor challenges and high fuel costs. He noted that demand remains strong. “After two years of delaying travel, it is clear that consumers are getting out and traveling the world,” he told reporters and analysts. A few days earlier, American Airlines forecast that its third-quarter revenue is projected to be above its original guidance. The airline said higher-than-average fares are counter-balancing increased costs. Southwest Airlines made a similar move, saying that leisure travel trends “remain elevated” and bookings are solid as the industry rounds out the third quarter. By many accounts it’s a more robust recovery than what was imagined two years ago, at least on the leisure side. International travel is still bogged down by Covid-related restrictions throughout much of Asia, including China. And business travel hasn’t bounced back as quickly as many had hoped. But airline load factors are high and balance sheets are generally in the black. Airports are bustling again, with some outpacing passenger levels registered in 2019. Uneven Recovery While leisure travel demand came back quickly, the rising tide didn’t necessarily lift all boats. Henry Harteveldt, co-founder and chief research officer, Atmosphere Research Group , says business travel centric airports, certain international traffic-centric airports and even some leisure destinations have cause for concern. “Business travel has not returned at the pace that I think many had hoped for,” he says, noting the ongoing prevalence of video conferencing and other technology tools that have replaced some face-to-face meetings. “So business travel is, is still very much in the rebuild process.

“Business travel has not returned at the pace that I think many had hoped for.” — Henry Harteveldt, co-founder and chief research officer, Atmosphere Research Group

“While leisure travel was definitely strong over the summer and continues to be stronger than some airlines had anticipated it might be going into the fall, the impact of inflation, the concern about recession, concerns about losing jobs and dealing with the higher cost of everyday essential items, are all eating into leisure travelers, discretionary budgets,” Harteveldt continues. He cites data from his firm showing that a significant number of travelers say they intend to cut back on their 2023 leisure travel budgets. “In the U.S., passengers expect to cut their 2023 personal travel budgets by 14% compared to 2022. And 42% of travelers are planning to cut their budgets - that’s actually leisure airline passengers.”

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