The Covid-19 Crisis and How Major Airlines Responded to it

Air travel has seen some pretty substantial changes over the past 100 years. From the original, open-air biplanes to today’s long-haul jumbo jets, air travel has become less of an adventure and more of a routine aspect of modern life.

The recent Covid-19 crisis, however, threatens to shift the balance back towards adventure again and away from daily routine.

Though it might be too early to tell what exactly will come of this event, we do know that to survive and thrive in this industry, airlines are going to have to work hard at staying on top of things at all times. Here are some of the major airlines in the world:

American Airlines

American Airlines is on its way to recovery. The airline’s stock is expected to increase by 5% in 2019 after some major declines earlier in 2018.

The company plans to rework many of its services and focus more on its product to compete with other major airlines such as United, Delta, and Southwest.

For more info please visit the AA coronavirus updates

JetBlue

Ever since the corona came into our lives, the airline was among several major U.S.A carriers that announced vaccine mandates for their staff, coming on the heels of President Biden’s sweeping federal vaccine requirements that cover millions of Americans.

For example, when an unexpected storm struck Florida in March of 2007, JetBlue was one of several airlines that grounded their planes as a precautionary measure.

These stranded passengers could not have anticipated that their downtime would last for days; nor did they know if or when they’d be able to fly again.

To help these flyers remain connected, JetBlue offered its customers free Internet service on the ground at all airports where flights were delayed or canceled.

For more info please visit JetBlue's COVID-19 Info Hub.

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines quickly announced that they would waive rebooking fees for those who couldn’t fly as a result of Covid-19. They also promised full refunds for all passengers stuck in their original destination.

For more info please visit the Delta Air Lines travel planning center

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Air announced that all of its 380 flights would be delayed by an average of 1.5 hours, but only 20 percent would have to be canceled.

The airline was able to reschedule passengers on other airlines’ flights and use smaller aircraft which required fewer flight attendants.

In addition, 20 flight attendants were sent out ahead of schedule to get overseas flights off on time.

For more info please visit the Singapore Airlines Covid-19 Information Centre

Qatar Airways

The Covid 19 crisis was nothing short of a nightmare for thousands of passengers across different international flights. After an embargo was placed on Qatar, more than 100 flights that were inbound or outbound from Doha were canceled within hours.

As most airlines responded with offers to reroute customers onto other airlines, one airline stood out from all others—Qatar Airways announced that no one would be left stranded and everyone would be accommodated on their aircraft.

For more info please visit the Qatar Airways Covid updates page

Emirates

The Emirates Airline response was substantial. They resumed all flight service within 2 days of landfall.

The airline also worked with local authorities to reroute flights around the storm zone, using their fleet of long-range Boeing 777 jets. Their impressive commitment paid off; with high customer satisfaction ratings, they received high praise from travelers over their quick response time.

Another example of the company in an emergency was On April 17, an Emirates A380 made an emergency landing in Dubai, after receiving a cabin pressure warning over international waters between India and Dubai.

Severe turbulence knocked out power for several minutes on flight EK521. Once on the ground, passengers cheered as they were able to get off a full two hours ahead of schedule.

For more info please visit the Emirates covid info hub

United Airlines

The covid–19 crisis refers to a series of events that began with a loss of cabin pressure aboard United Airlines Flight 232 at an altitude of about 28,000 feet over Iowa on July 19, 1989.

It resulted in 111 deaths among 297 people aboard. The aircraft was bound for San Francisco from Stapleton International Airport in Denver when it suffered an explosive failure of its number two engine—partially disintegrating as well.

The United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says that the omicron - the new Covid19 variant will affect the near-term bookings but the impact should be smaller than the delta rules of in.

For more info please visit the United Airlines covid update page