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| - Airline officials offered a grim outlook on the industry's prospects at an aviation summit Thursday as more consumers cancel trips due to the coronavirus. Carriers are grounding more planes, not only to the most affected regions, but as consumers broadly avoid international travel out of fear they could be quarantined for two-to-three weeks if the virus spreads to their destination. "The traveling public has taken the view that they don't know enough," William Franke, founder of Indigo Partners, an aviation-focused private equity firm, said at the US Chamber of Commerce's aviation summit. "The result is a lot of people are just staying home." Alexandre de Juniac, chief executive officer of the International Air Transport Association, said that based on SARS, 9/11 and other crises that have dented travel demand, the impact from coronavirus can be expected to last from three-to-six months after the start of the crisis. Earlier Thursday, the IATA estimated the industry could lose up to $113 billion in revenue this year due to the outbreak, up to a 19 percent loss in worldwide revenues. Shares of US carriers plunged Thursday after Southwest Airlines cut its first-quarter revenue estimate by $200 million to $300 million due to the virus. "The company experienced healthy passenger booking and revenue trends for the first two months of 2020," Southwest said. "However, in recent days, the company has experienced a significant decline in customer demand, as well as an increase in trip cancellations, which is assumed to be attributable to concerns relating to reported cases of COVID-19." jmb/cs
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