With high gas prices and a war in Ukraine, airlines face a bumpy ride ahead

With high gas prices and a war in Ukraine, airlines face a bumpy¹ ride ahead

　　Transcript²

　　Springtime air travel is stronger than at any time since the pandemic began. But airlines still worry that soaring fuel prices and a war in Ukraine could cut into travel plans and revenues.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　It's spring break season. And the number of people who are boarding planes is just about back to pre-pandemic levels. But domestic vacation trips don't make airlines the same kind of money that business and international travel does. Those are still lagging and adding to concerns about the war in Ukraine, which is also driving up fuel prices for airlines. NPR's David Schaper reports.

　　DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE³: Many airports again are packed with long lines at check-in counters, TSA checkpoints and around gate before people pack onto planes like sardines⁴. And that has airline executives smiling.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　DOUG PARKER: The demand is higher than it has ever been.

　　SCHAPER: That's American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, who told investors⁵ at a recent conference that the industry hit a one-day record high for revenues booked earlier this month.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　PARKER: I can tell you that at American, we didn't just have our record day, we had three days that were the best, highest days ever. Two of them were 15% higher than any day we've ever had.

　　SCHAPER: And this red-hot demand is mostly for domestic leisure travel, with business and international travel still lagging. Vivek Pandya is lead analyst⁶ for Adobe⁷ Analytics, which has been tracking airline booking data since before the pandemic began.

　　VIVEK PANDYA: The second week of February, we saw flight bookings return to pre-pandemic norms and kind of cross that threshold, which was a pretty massive milestone⁸.

　　SCHAPER: And Pandya says the surge in air travel demand is continuing despite higher airfares.

　　PANDYA: At the moment, we've seen prices increase. But it hasn't really dulled the momentum⁹ of airline travel. What we're finding is bookings are up 26%. And then airline and air booking spend, the revenues, are up 42% relative to certain periods in 2019.

　　SCHAPER: Economist¹⁰ Hayley Berg of the mobile travel app Hopper sees similar trends. And she says since airlines still have diminished capacity, higher demand is part of what's driving airfares higher.

　　HAYLEY BERG: But also jet fuel prices. So even before the crisis in Ukraine began, jet fuel prices were about double what they were at the beginning of this year.

　　SCHAPER: She says higher jet fuel prices will likely continue to drive up fares into the summer months. But that may not weaken demand now that many COVID travel restrictions¹¹ are being dropped.

　　BERG: I expect that if we do continue to see higher prices, we will likely probably still continue to see higher demand, as, you know, travelers have been waiting to go on some of these bucket-list trips since, you know, summer of 2019 and 2020.

　　SCHAPER: As for travel overseas, and in particular to Europe...

　　BERG: We had been seeing a huge surge in demand similar to what we're seeing for domestic travel since January. And that's flattened¹² sense about mid-February.

　　SCHAPER: Not coincidentally, that's when Russia invaded Ukraine. Vivek Pandya of Adobe Analytics says a prolonged war in Ukraine could further delay the stronger return of international travel that airlines need to bolster¹³ their bottom lines.

　　PANDYA: It's definitely a concern when the sort of global, political situations and war and these factors are driving decision-making, especially around international travel.

　　SCHAPER: But as the travel industry gets heartburn over the international travel drop-off, domestic travel demand is expected to remain strong through the summer, as more people feel comfortable taking the vacations that they put off during the height of the pandemic.

　　David Schaper, NPR News.

1 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 sardines   

n. 沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。
• Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 adobe   

n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司

参考例句：

• They live in an adobe house.他们住在一间土坯屋里。
• Adobe bricks must drived dried completely before are used.土坯砖块使用前一定要完全干燥。

8 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

9 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

13 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。