Airlines Making Recovery Plans

Airlines are taking steps to position their assets in accordance with their recovery plans. 

Aviation Week’s Fleet Discovery data shows that the number of parked/reserve aircraft (those flying 1-2 days per week) has increased from 2,670 on May 14 to 3,153 on May 28, meaning that airlines are preparing to resume more flights.

The number of aircraft that have moved into long-term storage has also increased.

Now that demand are beginning to recover, airlines face their next major challenge—quickly rebuilding networks that took decades to construct and optimize.

Among the key questions they are pondering: Which markets should come back online first, and how should they be served? Does local traffic have priority over connecting markets or vice versa? Which aircraft should be flown? And how much of the rebuilding can be modeled on past flows?