Skift Take
Good early morning from Skift. It’s Monday, June 6, in New York City City. Here’s what you require to understand about business of travel today.
Rashaad Jorden
Today’s edition of Skift’s everyday podcast describes why American Airlines’ CEO isn’t fretted about an economic crisis, how Oklahoma tourism is aiming to Bob Dylan for a boost, and why Iberia’s CEO wants to reinvent the carrier.
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Episode Notes
The U.S. financial outlook has actually taken a nosedive in recent weeks, sparking issues of an economic crisis. However American Airlines CEO Robert Isom revealed confidence that an economic downturn would not dent the travel industry’s continuous recovery, reports Airline companies Reporter Edward Russell.
Isom said at a financier conference held by research firm Bernstein recently that he’s not stressed over the effect of a possible economic downturn, citing the suppressed demand for travel. That demand hasn’t been diminished by higher airfares, with consumers paying approximately a third more for flights this summer compared to last year. MKM Partners expert Conor Cunningham also believes the travel market is well-positioned to endure the impacts of a recession, specifying that travel demand should remain strong even after the Labor Day holiday in September.
Isom included that American anticipates business demand to be near 2019 levels by the end of June. The carrier also enhanced its 2nd quarter outlook, forecasting total profits for the duration to increase in between 11 and 13 percent compared to the same timeframe 3 years earlier.
Next, Iberia is leading the healing among carriers in its parent International Airlines Group, but CEO Javier Sánchez-Prieto is not remaining complacent regardless of its strong rebound, writes Airlines Press reporter Russell.
Sánchez-Prieto stated it’s time for the airline company to invest and take some threats, and a big part of that financial investment, Russell composes, is expanding Iberia’s map. The Spain-based carrier introduced service to Washington Dulles last week and it’s adding flights to Dallas-Fort Worth and locations in Greece and Morocco. The new U.S. routes are an item of Iberia’s joint endeavor with American Airlines. However Sánchez-Prieto maintains Iberia’s long-term objective is to transform Madrid into a center with connections in all instructions and not just in between Europe and the Americas.
Iberia is also targeting Asia for growth, with Sánchez-Prieto adding that the airline wants to resume flights to Tokyo early next year. He did not offer a timeline though for a go back to Shanghai, the just other East Asian destination Iberia flew to prior to the pandemic. The airline company suspended flights to both Shanghai and Tokyo in March 2020.
We end today with a take a look at a music scholar soaked in the profession of Bob Dylan. Factor Robert Reid profiles Mark Davidson, the director of archives and displays at Tulsa’s freshly opened Bob Dylan Center, for this month’s At Your Service feature on the coolest jobs in travel.
Davidson explains himself as a Dylan fan but not a full-blown fanatic. Nevertheless, he instantly made an application for a position at the Bob Dylan Center upon seeing the task publishing online in 2017. He’s worked there ever since, playing a vital role in arranging the items in the structure which contains thousands of tapes, pictures, letters and other items connected to the artist’s life. Davidson said his position at the museum, which opened to the general public on May 10, is definitely a dream task, admitting there are times he’s amazed to be holding the original manuscript of a famous Dylan song.