Business travel demand looked like it was going to never fully recover following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many industry observers had concluded that COVID-era remote work norms would soon become the standard and that business travel might never look the way it had before the pandemic. With environmental concerns growing and an economy that was still struggling post-pandemic, it didn't seem that unreasonable to assume that most companies would stop sending employees on the road for meetings that really could have been held remotely.

2024, however, proved that this might not be the case. According to Skift, business travel has now reached 95% of its pre-COVID levels, marking an impressive level of demand recovery. The figure next year might even exceed pre-pandemic numbers. While airlines have begun to reorient their networks to serve leisure travelers more than they ever had before, it appears that business travel is back, potentially stronger than it has ever been before.

As a result, airlines are now in a unique position, as they are forced to balance the different desires of leisure and business travelers, and have begun to cater their route networks to best serve the demands of these two kinds of consumers in the post-pandemic era. The aviation industry is simply no longer structured the way it was before, and, as a result, airlines have been forced to improvise and adapt.

Business travel now is very different from business travel five years ago

It is very important to note that simply because similar numbers of corporate travelers are hitting the road this year does not imply that they are doing so in the same way. Before the pandemic, airlines filled a significant portion of their seats with business travelers flying out on Sundays and flying home on Fridays, a standard schedule for those working either at a different office or a client site.

In the post-pandemic world, however, the corporate world revolves around a mostly different schedule. Important business now takes place, for the most part, during the middle of the week. Business travelers have grown to accept flying out on Monday afternoons after a day of remote work and flying home on Thursdays, leaving Friday as another remote day. For these reasons, unsurprisingly, Thursday has been dubbed the "new Friday" when it comes to corporate work schedules. It is also important to note that the existence of Monday and Friday "remote days" has now encouraged more "soft vacationing" in which passengers may travel for leisure purposes and work remotely at their destinations.

As a result, airlines oriented around the business traveler now must be mindful of their new schedule, and know that more seats on their Sunday and Friday afternoon flights will now need to be filled with leisure travelers. During the summer and winter peak travel seasons, airlines can easily shift this capacity towards their routes that primarily serve leisure destinations, such as those in the Caribbean or American Mountain West.

During the shoulder seasons (an industry term for the fall and spring which see weaker levels of passenger demand), airlines must be careful to shift their route networks to meet the needs of the few leisure travelers. As a result, weekend travel destinations have become crucial sources of revenue for full-service and low-cost airlines alike, which have begun to focus on a few destinations in the American Southeast, rapidly growing in popularity.

Three major cities stand out

There are a few key weekend destinations in the American Southeast that have become increasingly popular over the past few months. Sunny vacation destinations are still very popular in September, amid weather that remains nice throughout the month. However, October and November present a bigger challenge for airline schedules. Airlines have thus turned towards unique destinations that appeal to travelers during the fall months, with the following three becoming major examples:

• Nashville International Airport (BNA)
• Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
• Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY) in New Orleans

Each city brings a lot to the table

These three cities each bring a lot to the table for leisure travelers, especially during the fall months. Nashville, the global center of country music culture, has become immensely popular with younger travelers, attracted by the city's nightlife during the months when the weather remains nice. Furthermore, the city is easily accessible and takes no more than three hours to fly to the city from most of the United States.

Austin continues to be one of the most popular weekend destinations in America. The city has not only nightlife and good weather but also a top-ranked Southeastern Conference (SEC) football team in town, which draws thousands of visitors every home game. College football, across the board, remains one of the largest drivers of leisure travel throughout the fall. New Orleans also falls into this category, with a vibrant culture and mild weather keeping visitors happy in October and November.

So what's the bottom line for airlines?

Airlines are aware of just how popular these destinations have become. Nashville International Airport has continued to set record passenger numbers through the fall, prompting airlines to continue adding service and the airport has even begun to finance a massive expansion, according to The Tennessean.

Austin continues to see more and more flights from airlines across the United States. Just a couple of weeks ago, Austin-Bergstrom Airport shattered passenger records when the United States Grand Prix and a massive Texas vs. Georgia football game fell on the same weekend. Airlines are well aware of these massively popular fall leisure destinations and mastering the subtle art of capturing this kind of leisure travel might prove essential to airline business models in a post-pandemic world.