TSA Checkpoint (National)

TSA Foot traffic is up slightly this week, climbing 2.4% over last week with an increase to the daily average 16,537. While two weeks ago the 900k travelers milestone was broken, traffic only maxed out at 847,968 this week.  

FAA Traffic (ATL Airport)

With another month comes another sharp increase in air traffic through Hartsfield-Jackson Intl. The month of August saw an average daily increase of 20%, or 260 more planes per day. This puts airline traffic through Atlanta in the month of August at 59% of what it was last year.

Delta Airlines

Over the last week, Delta stock rose from $32.82 at the start of the week all the way up to $34.57 on Wednesday before falling back down to 29.82 this Monday, following the trend of the overall market. 

Delta is increasing its connections in the west in order to compete with other airlines expanding in that area. Jet Blue, Southwest, and Alaska airlines have all been moving into more cities in the west, and Delta is trying to fill those gaps first by creating five new connections out of LAX.

In The News

Airline CEOs plead with Washington as layoffs loom

Alex Gangitano

The race to prevent massive airline layoffs in October is heating up with CEOs and union leaders pleading with the White House and Congress to reach a deal for more industry aid. 

Employers say they will have to start cutting tens of thousands of jobs in a little more than a week without congressional action. But despite bipartisan support to prevent job losses from hitting flight attendants and pilots, an agreement remains elusive amid a stalemate over a broader coronavirus relief bill.

Nicholas Calio, head of the industry group Airlines for America, called Friday’s conversation “very productive,” adding that it was focused on the urgency for action on a COVID-19 package.

“We have been encouraged by the strong bipartisan, bicameral support on Capitol Hill to help airline workers; however, we need action before September 30. These are dire times. Our leaders need to get something meaningful done – and it needs to get done now,” Calio told The Hill in a statement.

Delta Air Lines CEO Calls for Travel Industry to Unify

Donald Wood

The CEO of Delta Air Lines said the aviation would take several years before volumes return to 2019 levels unless the entire travel industry comes together to communicate a unified message about safety and trust.

“So while we can get people traveling again I think the question is just broader than our sector of air travel. It’s the travel ecosystem,” Bastian said. “Getting the hotels and getting all aspects of the hospitality business to join arms and continue to drive the same type of safety protocols, the safety message and the confidence in protecting people through will help us all get out and get more comfortable in being on the road.”