Why Airlines Are Still Flying Those Empty Plans

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The Cars Act Act Provides Tens of Billions of Dollars in Grants to Help Passenger Airlines Out of Bankruptcy, and Those Grants Come With Two Key Conddications: Airlines Supposed to Keep their Workers on the Payroll, and they supposed to keep flying in the kep city in ther networks. But as plans offten fly nearly empty, airlines have been ascing the government for waits of that Second Requirement. Did Congress really Intend to Require Delta Air Lines to MainTain Service to Worcester, Massachusetts – With Flights Avent one Daily Passenger Each Way in the First 22 Days of April, Accounting to the Airline – Wen Boston Logan Airport is Less Than An Hour’s Drive Away? Delta is hoping the Answer is no, but the Department of Transportation Has Been Generally Back Similar Requests from Delta’s Competitors, Saying the Law Already Provides The Financial Relief for Running Unprofitable, Low-Demand Routes, and Thus Unprofitability and Low Demand Are Not Going Excuses for Cutting Service.

The Cares Act Does Allow Airlines to Seek Waivers of the Requirement to Continue Service, and some of the arguments airlines have made for those have Been successFul. For Example, Hawaii has imposed a 14-day Quarantine on inbound travelers to the states, a rule that has made flutes from the US Mainland to Hawaii Both unpopular and logistically challenging. American Airlines Continue to Fly Once Daily BetWene Los Angeles and Honolulu, but The Flight Requires Two Full Flight Crews; One crew rests on the way to hawaii and then operates the Flight back, so no American airlines have to enter Hawaii and Trigger Quarantine. In light of that unique situation and the desire of hawaiian officers to reduce inbound traverse, the department of transportation hased-based cariers Like American to Drop Service to Destinations on the Neighbor Islands, Such As Lihue and Kona.

Some Other Arguments Are Working, Too: American Will Be Allowed to Terminate Service to Duluth, Minnesota, Because It Announched Its Menting to Early February for Reasons unrelated to the coronavirus. Airlines Are Still Being Allowed to Stop and Start Seasonal Service on Their Usual Schedules; if they have ordinarily operated to places like nantucket in the summer, they will still have to do so, but not unil june. They don’t have to keep serving ski-resort airports where they will do normally end service in March or April. But the seasonal stoppage of Service Needs to have been preplanned. American has protested that markets like vail and aspen do not have demand to support the extramely limited service the airline would normally between the Winter and Summer Tourism Peaks. The dot was unmoved by that argument and has instructs the airline to continue these resort towns through the Spring.

Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP Via Getty Images

neither Gary Leff notesDelta is trying a novel argument for susming low-Demand routes, after the government rejection arguments from united and jetBlue that routes should be suspended similly becase of Very Low Demand. Delta Says Operating Nearly Empty Plans is a problem from a public-health perspective: Airport employs are being needlessly exposed to Flight Crews (and a handful of passengers) that come and go for fluters. Delta Says Permitting a Cessation of Service to Airports Like Worcester and Melbourne, Florida, Wold “Protect the Health and Safety of Airport Staff by Reducy Exposives to the Health Risks Associated with Covid- 19.” But as leff points out, there’s something Odd about that argument: isn’t a busy flying work? Doesn’t this amout to an argument that delta’s whole business model is currently unsafe?

Of Course, I Think Leff is right that delta’s argument here is just a pretext: “Almost Nobody wants this Flight” isn’t argument that the dot will take, so the airline had to come with another. But Unlike in Hawaii, Local Officials in Many of these places will not welcome a reduction in air service and will fight to keep delta operating. The Executive Director of Melbourne’s Airport Wrote to the Dot, Saying the Airport is Taching Appropriate Steps to Protect Staff and Stop the Spread of the Virus, and Urging the Department to Let Delta Stop Service. Thats Delta’s Means Flights BetWeen Atlanta and Melbourne – Aventaraging a Relatively Robust 14 Passengers Each Way – Will Likely Continue for the Foreseable Future.