Effects of COVID-19 on American Airlines Competitors
Due to the pandemic of COVID-19, American Airlines’ competitors have also been negatively affected. This includes Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and others not as highly regarded as American Airlines. The airlines that are not as highly regarded have been negatively affected because they have lost too much money and cannot prioritize investing in new planes, employees, and other new strategies. This has caused Southwest, Spirit, and other airlines such as JetBlue Airways to have a significant financial situation.
The financial losses that American Airlines and its competitors have incurred due to the COVID-19 outbreak have caused them to take drastic measures that may not make it a priority to invest in their businesses. They are trying to keep their business afloat by paying back their debts, i.e., loans from banks. This has caused major airlines such as Southwest Airlines and American Airlines to take on huge amounts of debt so they can be able to survive financially in the future. Additionally, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have been forced to increase their ticket prices. Ticket prices have risen by more than 25% since the COVID-19 outbreak began. The airlines that were forced to slash their employees’ salaries also found themselves laying off employees due to their insufficient salaries. The airlines were forced to cut the salaries of many of their employees after they suffered financial losses due to COVID-19.
American Airlines has been trying different methods to try and combat COVID-19, such as removing seats from some of its planes to reduce its weight and become less vulnerable to turbulence. American Airlines was also able to increase its in-flight entertainment system on selected planes. American Airlines has also been trying to prevent people from bringing laptops, toner cartridges, and more into its flights by implementing certain security measures. There have been reports about some passengers being forced to take their electronics off the plane because it was unsafe for them to be transporting them. American Airlines has also joined the U.S. Department of Transportation’s efforts to combat COVID-19 by working with other airlines to create an interdictory response plan (DOT). The DOT is working on creating a potential response plan that may help American Airlines and its competitors.
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