Thread by @bopinion

This pandemic has turned the world’s airports into ghost towns.

Even after the coronavirus subsides, air travel will be alien and jarring. Arriving only two hours before a flight will seem like a luxury compared with what’s to come trib.al/DIPSnAN

It’s impossible to get passengers off the plane without putting them in close proximity to each other. Just imagine the other issues Covid-19 creates:

💺Seat assignments
🛂Long waits at passport control
🧳Crowded baggage claim
🚗Traffic jams at arrivals trib.al/yffsOAE

Years of airline cost cuts and security checks have made flying a frustrating experience for passengers.

Hygiene measures, health checks and social distancing will only make the experience feel more dispiriting, whether you’re in economy or business trib.al/yffsOAE

✈️😷The biggest American carriers say customers will have to wear face masks.

Armrests, tray tables and seat-belt buckles are being disinfected after every journey; and in-flight magazines have been removed trib.al/yffsOAE

To minimize physical contact with airline staff and other passengers, we’ll scan boarding passes ourselves and we’ll be offered less food and drink on board.

Instead of boarding first, business class passengers may have to wait till last trib.al/yffsOAE

It’s not yet clear how passengers will be screened for the coronavirus until there's a vaccine.

🌡️At a minimum we’ll have our temperatures checked when we arrive at the airport, but this won’t weed out the asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic virus cases trib.al/yffsOAE

Blood tests or so-called “immunity passports” may be required for international travel but these have limitations.

Those who disembark from high-risk locations may have to enter quarantine, which could put many off from booking a flight in the first place trib.al/yffsOAE

Some airlines are leaving the middle seat unoccupied.

Carriers typically need to fill about 80% of seats to break even. If they’re only allowed to sell two-thirds of them, they’ll have to cut costs or raise prices trib.al/yffsOAE

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1257689024921317376

Unless ticket prices rise, the new health measures alone could also make flying less profitable, regardless of demand.

Airlines are burning through vast amounts of cash. In some cases, net borrowings will far exceed their revenues by the end of 2020 trib.al/yffsOAE

Besides China, where domestic services have restarted, airlines have pretty much grounded their entire fleets.

The few aircraft still in service often take off almost empty trib.al/yffsOAE

If weaker airlines collapse, the survivors will face less rivalry and may eventually raise fares.

Consolidation transformed U.S. airline profits and even convinced Buffett to abandon his aversion to investing in the sector — until the virus came along trib.al/yffsOAE