COVID-19 pandemic spares no businesses. And this is most especially true with the airline business.
Passenger planes are not allowed to fly due to border closures. Movements are restricted with government home quarantine guidelines. Strict measures on wearing face masks, hand gloves, and social distancing are enforced.
Travel junkies like me are surely anxious to know when we will be able to fly again? Missing the scent of the airport, view of the runway, view of the limitless sky, lovely flight attendants attending to our needs, short chats with fellow travelers, finally hearing the sound of the tires skidding upon landing followed by a handful of claps from long time travelers. Lastly a message from the captain, “Thank you for flying with us. Cabin crew, please open doors.” What a nostalgic feeling it has become…
But wait, I guess the more important question to ask right now is, “will the air travel experience be the same as before?”
According to Business Traveller’s interview with the CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, there is a high chance of imposing social distancing in aircraft.
Will this mean everyone will be seated one seat apart? No more elbow bumps with the person seating beside you? That would be interesting to see.
“It is very clear that if social distancing is imposed inside the aircraft we will need to neutralize a huge proportion of seats, at least a third for short and medium-haul aircraft.”
Saying that normally an airline would need a load factor of around 70-72 percent for short to medium-haul aircraft, de Juniac said.
“It means two things: either you fly at the same price, selling the ticket at the same average price as before and then you lose an enormous amount of money, so it’s impossible to fly for any airline. Or you increase the ticket price for a similar product by at least 50 percent and then you are able to fly with a minimum profit.”
Finally, “And so it means that if social distancing is imposed, cheap travel is over. Voila!”
It’s interesting to see how much ticket prices will increase. Let’s wait and see.
For now, let’s keep safe and stay at home as much as possible. Let’s overcome this pandemic by being apart, together!
Photo by: Chris McGinnis)
Great article. Who knows what the future will hold for us all, especially with air travel.
Thanks Nick! This pandemic is really hitting hard on the airline industry, no one can tell what will be the new normal for air travel.. Stay safe!