The Impact of Covid 19 on the American Airlines Industry

Abstract

As one of the most impacted industries by COVID-19, the airline industry has experienced significant changes in the past one and a half years due to the outbreak and rapid spread of the coronavirus. The top 3 airline companies in America, which are Delta Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, were selected as samples to get a glimpse of the impact of COVID-19 on the airline industry during the pandemic. By analyzing the interim financial statements of each company, the article focused on the change of the main representative financial indicators during each season in 2020 and 2021 to observe the financial effect of COVID-19 and the recovery of the companies. To get through this critical period, the companies took several actions to increase liquidity, improve their financial position, and reduce costs in a short period of time. The government support programs provided the companies with additional liquidity to help them out of their predicament as well. Both internal and external factors are of significant importance in the recovery of the companies, which were summarized in the article.