The era of business travel is "not going to come back," says Mike Boyd, Boyd Group International President. The longtime airline industry expert joined Rachelle Akuffo on Yahoo Finance Live with his outlook on the sector, on the heels of positive outlooks from Delta (DAL) and United Airlines (UAL). Air travel is not as "time effective as it used to be" for businesses, Boyd says, pointing to the ease and efficiency video offers. He explains that airlines are instead focusing on leisure travel, a sector with "a lot less" vulnerability than in years prior. But, Boyd warns, "we don't know what inflation is going to do."
The airline industry can be split into "two parallel" systems, Boyd says. You have large airlines that cater to a "mix of travelers": Delta, American (AAL), United, and Southwest (LUV). Then, there are ultra low cost carriers (ULCCs), that focus entirely on leisure traffic: think Spirit (SAVE), Frontier (ULCC), Allegiant (ALGT), which Boyd says will be fine "as long as discretionary dollars hold." He adds that people have made it clear with their spending habits they're "willing to spend" on air travel, "even if they can't afford an egg for breakfast."
Key Video Moments:
00:00:11 Business travel "is not going to come back"
00:00:45 Leisure travel is higher on the "spend food chain" for consumers
00:01:08 Mix of travelers is going to "be different"
00:01:36 We're looking at two "parallel airline systems"
00:02:14 People are "willing to spend" on airline travel
