The days of cheap air travel will be over if airlines are forced to introduce physical distancing measures on airplanes because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alexandre de Juniac, the director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), said that if governments ordered airlines to adopt physical distancing onboard aircraft, at least a third of seats would remain empty and airlines would have to raise their ticket prices by at least 50% or go bust.
“Either you fly at the same price, selling the ticket at the same average price as before, and you lose enormous amounts of money so it’s impossible to fly for any airline, particularly low cost; or you increase ticket prices by at least 50% and you are able to fly with a minimum profit. So it means that if social distancing is imposed, cheap travel is over.”
Iata said domestic air traffic had slumped 70% since early January because of the pandemic and warned that any global recovery was likely to be slow. Several countries started to ease lockdown and domestic routes will be open soon, however, weak consumer confidence and recession will be another obstacle for aviation industry.
According to China Press, Malindo Air Chief Executive Officer Captain Mushafiz bin Mustafa Bakri said, they will need to cover losses in revenue, the cost of disinfection, and with social distancing enforced number of passengers on board will be lesser which will all contribute to the change in the prices of air ticket.
And looks like the flight companies in Malaysia already bracing for the likelihood of increased ticket prices in near future. Sob 🙁 This is a SAD news for me because i love to travel. What about you?
Source : The Guardian | China Press