Analysis Response

Question

Respond and agree/disagree with the following two stories below. Please respond using bullet points as (bullet point 1 for essay 1, and bullet point 2 for essay 2)

The aviation industry is an incredibly dynamic industry that contributes significantly to economic development. The aviation sector provides a global transportation system, which is essential for international trade. People, cultures, and corporations all benefit from aviation. The aviation industry facilitates worldwide trade and tourism by allowing passengers and things to travel more quickly and easily. It promotes economic growth, supporting 87.7 million jobs around the world, either directly or indirectly through the industry's supply chain, employee spending, and in the aviation-enabled tourist sector (Employment, n.d.). 

Both 2020 and 2021 have brought a previously unheard-of devastating impact on the economy with the global epidemic known as COVID-19.  In just a few months, it has swept the globe, restricting people to their homes and causing entire countries to go into lockdown in the hopes of preventing an uncontrollable spread. COVID-19 can span continents and seas in a matter of hours thanks to aviation, which has aided in its global spread. People stayed indoors because they were frightened to leave, visit friends, or become ill. People were afraid to sit next to each other because of social distancing regulations. The aviation industry was severely impacted as a result of this, with the total number of commercial flights worldwide falling by nearly 75% between March and May (Picardo, 2020). COVID-19's impact on the aviation industry can also be reflected back to the attacks of 9/11. According to an analyst, the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on airlines is reminiscent of the 9/11's result on the industry (Taylor, 2020). He stated, "9/11 wasn’t an economically driven issue for travel. It was more fear, quite frankly, and I think that that’s really what’s manifested this time" (Taylor, 2020). These events created fear among many people, putting the industry and economy into a difficult position. 

Sadly, we can only make educated guesses about how the airline industry will develop. We can only speculate on the measures required to recover from COVID-19. It took decades for the aircraft industry to develop into what it was before COVID, and it only took a few months to undo it. It is estimated that recovery might take 2-3 years, and possibly up to 5 some sources say. No one knows and we never will till COVID isn't so much in the picture. Let us hope it will make a full recovery, for the sake of us all.

Essay 2 Ethan: Today, the aviation industry is on it's way to recovering from the worst crisis in it's history. COVID-19 affected aviation more than most other industries. Given the aim of the public to limit spread, most people totally stopped traveling domestically and internationally, let alone outside of their house. With the decreased demand for air travel, companies had to make major cutbacks in flight frequency and the amount of airplanes in use. COVID forced airlines to rethink and optimize their business strategy to accommodate for the type of travel demand. At first, travel for both leisure and business were dramatically reduced, the former slightly more than the latter. Businesses were forced to adapt by holding meetings online, rather than in person. Many found this change to be better for productivity and cheaper. As the world starts to open back up, less businesses are willing to revert back to in-person meetings (Smith Brain Trust, 2020). Countries opening up for leisure travel determines the flow of traffic now, rather than attractiveness. Any place that is open will get tourists, which changes usual airport connections from pre-COVID. Airports that were never connected may now be primary connections for the next few years, if not indefinitely. 

Business meetings were largely facilitated by air travel before COVID. With airlines running at an all time low due to demand, sectors are affected both upstream and downstream. All sorts of companies that support airlines, from manufacturing aircraft parts to flight instruction companies that train pilots, have to adjust for lower airline demand. Air travel is a global transportation network that facilitates a broad number of economic activities. Less air travel means that less trade or economic growth is happening on a global scale (Hazlegreaves, 2021). Air travel is a relatively small economic sector, but a great deal of other economic sectors rely on it to facilitate business. As we can see, the effect of COVID on air transportation further exacerbates effects on international supply chains and an intangible diffusion of knowledge. Consequently, we might see a number of actions, mostly logistical changes, taken to mitigate these effects that will change how airlines do business forever, or, at least, for the foreseeable future. Airlines have already changed major routes to accommodate demand including COVID. We might also see more investment in aviation infrastructure as a buffer to allow airlines to operate in the event of recession.