Despite big travel numbers, airlines aren’t roaring back yet

Leisure air travel in the United States is on track to recover much more quickly than originally expected, thanks to the expedited distribution of vaccines, recent Covid-19 relief and economic stimulus legislation and pent-up demand. We now predict leisure travel in the United States will return to 2019 levels by early 2022. But even with the uptick in bookings, the industry still faces tough challenges ahead.Leisure air travel in the United States is on track to recover much more quickly than originally expected, thanks to the expedited distribution of vaccines, recent Covid-19 relief and economic stimulus legislation and pent-up demand. We now predict leisure travel in the United States will return to 2019 levels by early 2022. But even with the uptick in bookings, the industry still faces tough challenges ahead.