There are increasing signs that Americans are ready to fly again—possibly before it is wise to do so while Covid numbers continue to grow—and it's reflected in both obvious signs like route announcements and less obvious signs like longer and longer waits on hold.
And, on the ground, TSA reports clearing over a million passengers a day through a 14-day cycle that included a lot of spring break trips.
Part of the wait time issue is vouchers and credits issued for flights canceled months ago; some expire soon and those who hold them are anxious to book travel before they expire, even if for months away. During 2020, the four biggest U.S. airlines issued about 21.5 million vouchers and credits worth about $10.4 billion. Because vouchers are not always easily usable online, they often require phone calls, especially if multiple vouchers are involved.
Meanwhile, the airlines are ramping up schedules, especially on leisure routes where business is picking up much faster than business travel. United, for instance, has announced a slew of direct summer flights from Midwest cities direct to leisure destinations in the East and Southeast, in many cases bypassing its hub cities. Other airlines have made similar moves.
The leisure-destination move is evident at other airlines, including those like Southwest which already operate on point-to-point rather than hub networks. Southwest just announced 36 new routes, including several new cities.
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