The travel industry could be recovering faster than initially thought | 2023-06-13 | Invest News

  • New data from a global payment network suggests that business travel could be on its way to a full recovery
  • UATP is a global payment solution owned and operated by airlines such as American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL)
  • The firm provided insights into the state of travel through its proprietary technology, delving into corporate travel demand through its global transaction processing system, ATCAN
  • The statistics defy some predictions that it would take until at least 2024 for a complete comeback
  • American Airlines (AAL) opened trading at US$16.25 per share

New data from a global payment network suggests that business travel could be on its way to a full recovery.

UATP is a global payment solution owned and operated by airlines such as American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL). The firm provides insights into the state of travel through its proprietary technology, delving into corporate travel demands through its global transaction processing system, ATCAN. UATP connects airlines to alternative forms of payment, which can expand reach and generate incremental sales globally.

The statistics defy some predictions that it would take until at least 2024 for a complete comeback.

The company’s president and CEO, Ralph Kaiser, explained that UATP has reached 95 per cent of 2019 volume levels for corporate travel this year, while leisure travel shows growth well over 100 per cent within the same period.

“Airlines that struggled during the pandemic are now facing inflationary challenges. To succeed, they need to expand their product base through new partnerships and revenue streams,” Kaiser said. “Our payment solutions are an easy and cost-effective way for them to offer their customers a suite of convenient payment options for an almost limitless array of products related to the travel journey, thereby positioning them for success in the current travel boom.”

UATP’s findings are also supported by external sources, including the International Air Transport Association, which predicts that the industry will return to profit this year and reports that as of March 2023, global traffic is now already back at 88 per cent of March 2019 levels.

“This is fantastic news for the airline and broader travel industries, as well as overall economic growth, which depends on travel connectivity,” Kaiser added.

Airline stocks, such as American Airlines, have moved higher since this news was released. Over the past week, AAL stock has risen 8.9 per cent. This builds on its 27.9 per cent growth year to date, and 25.6 per cent growth since this time last year.

American Airlines is the world’s largest airline by scheduled revenue passenger miles. The firm’s major hubs are Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas / Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, DC After completing a major fleet renewal, the company has the youngest fleet of US legacy carriers. UATP recently partnered with Flocash, a leading provider of travel payments and distribution in the Middle East and Africa. Click here to read more.

American Airlines (AAL) opened trading at US$16.25 per share.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here.