Originally Posted by
gojo
Times like these? They’re saying that travel bookings and cancellations are far exceeding 911. The last recession took months to hit bottom. Thus giving the airlines more time to react and react in a more controlled manner. We’ve not yet seen a viral pandemic effect the industry such as this. I don’t think anyone will come out unaffected by mainline reductions. And I’m pretty sure ASA’s have an escape clause for this reason? This week will be interesting and show us what we might expect
I'm sure if the fed shuts down domestic travel, Force Majeure would apply and trigger whatever provisions the contract has.
But this has been discussed elsewhere... Force Majeure (Act of God) contract provisions are pretty strong for a DIRECT Force Majeure... ie if the fed grounds the airlines, Force Majeure would apply.
But hypothetically if somebody got a disease from a bat in Timbuk Two, the bug spread, damaged the economy, causing a recession, and United wants to claim Force Majeure and ditch their regional contracts, that might be a real stretch.
The guy who caught the virus from the bat might be able to claim Force Majeure to get out of HIS contract, but his misfortune does not automatically propagate endlessly down the chain of events.
Nationwide grounding is Force Majeure. A downturn in the economy is probably not in this context. Regardless of the trigger, an economic downturn is not really unforeseeable (some would say it was obviously overdue), although you could debate that based on the magnitude of a big downturn.