Watch CBS News

American Airlines Joins Other Airlines In Booking Flights To Full Capacity

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Air travel though still anemic is showing signs of life and airlines that were stressing social distancing are taking a second look at selling tickets for middle seats.

Airline analyst Seth Kaplan says, "They are just doing the math and betting that there are few enough people that care that much that this is going to work out for them."

American Airlines, which requires masks on all flights announced Friday that it will stop blocking middle seats on July 1st.

"Requiring masks does not cost the airlines money maybe a few cents, where blocked middle seats cost the airlines a lot of money," adds Kaplan.

Kaplan says: "I have no doubt that there are people that book Delta or Southwest because they are blocking middle seats, but how many people? Is it enough people that it works out financially those airlines to go without that ticket revenue for the middle seats?

The International Air Transportation Association questions the value of social distancing claiming "masks along with high-efficiency filters prevent the circulation of microbes in the passenger jet cabins."

Kaplan says, "An airline like American though, in better shape than some other airlines around the world, not as good a shape as Delta and Southwest, saying 'hey we got to get as much money as we can by selling as many seats as we can.'"

American Airlines will allow without costs to rebook a more open flight, so the passenger will be comfortable taking to the air.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.