DETROIT \u2014 The leader of Delta Air Lines is telling workers that he expects some recovery from the coronavirus travel downturn by the spring.<\/p>\n
CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a New Year\u2019s Day memo to employees that he expects 2021 to start with travel deeply depressed like it was last year. But as COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available, he expects a turning point especially in business travel. He says Delta should generate positive cash flow by the spring.<\/p>\n
Bastian wrote that there is uncertainty over what travel demand will look like once significant numbers of people are vaccinated, and that Delta must be nimble and ready for change.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust as we\u2019ve never experienced a global pandemic in our history, we\u2019ve also never had to create and execute a plan for recovery from one,\u201d Bastian wrote. \u201cOur success will depend on our collaboration, our willingness to be open to new ideas, our ability to adapt and our humility in recognizing that we won\u2019t always know the answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Air travel is less than half of what it was in 2019, but it has recovered a bit from a staggering 96% decline in mid-April of last year.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear just how quickly vaccines will be distributed across the U.S. Over the past few weeks, Trump administration health officials had talked about a goal of shipping enough vaccine by the end of the month to inoculate 20 million Americans. Earlier this week, the government said 14 million doses had been shipped, but only 2.8 million injections had been given. Officials said there is a lag in reporting vaccinations, but they are still happening more slowly than expected. They expect the pace will pick up next week.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden said the Trump administration is \u201cfalling far behind\u201d and vowed to ramp up the pace once he takes office on Jan. 20. In early December, Biden vowed to distribute 100 million shots in the first 100 days of his administration.<\/p>\n