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Fewer people are flying in the United States than are riding the NYC subway: report
By Michael Hollan
Published July 16, 2020
More people are traveling underground than through the skies.
According to reports, more people are using the New York City subway system than are flying across the entire United States. The airline industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and these numbers seem to illustrate that.
JETBLUE WILL CONTINUE TO BLOCK MIDDLE SEATS UNTIL AT LEAST SEPTEMBER
Airlines across the United States have seen a significant decrease in travelers over the past few months, Simple Flying reports. During the same time period, the New York City subway system has also seen a decrease in ridership, which can likely be attributed to fewer tourists visiting the city and many of its inhabitants working from home.
Both forms of transportation are reportedly starting to see increases in passengers, however.
Jason Rabinowitz, from FlightRadar24.com, originally noticed the trend and shared his findings with Twitter. He shared ridership data from March 1 to mid-July.
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He posted, “I plotted passenger count data and the New York City Subway alone is seeing ridership nearly double that of all airlines in the country combined. Add in (New York City Bus’, the Long Island Railroad and the Metro North train line) and it becomes clear just how important funding public transit is.”
It may be a while before the airline industry full recovers.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said on a call Tuesday that the airline would continue to keep middle seats empty beyond Sept. 30, but warned the policy would not last “forever.”
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In the earnings call with Wall Street analysts, Bastian claimed blocking the middle seats was “the No. 1 reason why customers are choosing Delta,” USA Today reported.
Fox News' Alexandra Deabler contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/fewer-people-flying-united-states-than-are-riding-the-nyc-subway-report