U.S. airlines have enjoyed a travel boom over the past three years, but until the last quarter, big-spending corporate travelers were largely absent.
Those customers are now back in full force, boosting carrier profits in a typically weak quarter in terms of results. US airlines reporting results so far, including Delta, United and Alaska Air, reported a strong rebound in commercial flights.
Alaska Air said Thursday that increased spending by technology companies such as Amazon.com and Microsoft in the March quarter lifted corporate travel revenues to pre-pandemic levels. For most of last year, the airline's commercial bookings remained stagnant at about 75% of 2019 levels.
The rise in corporate travel helped the Seattle-based airline post a strong performance in the March quarter, traditionally its weakest period of the year.
In an interview, Shane Tackett, Alaska's chief financial officer, said demand will continue to grow because technology company spending has not fully recovered.
“West Coast technology companies are the most valuable in the world.”claimed. “They will travel to see their clients and sell software.”
