Bloomberg: How Coronavirus Will Forever Change Airlines and the Way We Fly
"From air fares to destinations to cabin layouts, things may look very different once we start traveling again," reads the article published by Bloomberg, written by Angus Whitley.
"Higher fares, fewer routes, pre-flight health checks and less free food: The coronavirus pandemic is ushering in a new era of air travel. A long shakeup lies ahead that is set to touch almost every aspect of flying after limits on movement unwind," claims the author.
The article highlights that in a matter of months, the coronavirus reset the clock on a decades-long aviation boom that’s been one of the great cultural and economic phenomena of the postwar world. The explosion in air travel shrunk the planet, created jobs and hundreds of millions of first-time fliers, and dispersed families rich and poor over continents. Now it’s all on hold, with airlines slashing seat capacity by more than 70% since January.
"There’s no knowing when people will be willing to pack into enclosed cabin spaces again, though an International Air Transport Association survey found 40% of recent travelers anticipated waiting at least six months after the virus is contained before flying again. Budget carrier EasyJet Plc is among those planning to keep middle seats empty, at least initially, to reassure customers about personal spacing. At Korean Air Lines Co., cabin crew now have goggles, masks, gloves and protective gowns," reads the publication.
The author notes that configurations are likely to change as carriers try to squeeze more money from customers. Some will upgrade premium cabins while their fleets are grounded, resulting in an even starker difference between higher-class sections and ever more spartan economy seating, said Volodymyr Bilotkach, a lecturer in air-transport management at the Singapore Institute of Technology.
In Asia, one of the last strongholds for all-inclusive fares, airlines might also increasingly charge economy passengers separately for things like baggage check-in, legroom and meals, said Bilotkach, who wrote the book “The Economics of Airlines,” published in 2017. Even before the virus struck, carriers there typically made only $3 of profit from each customer, according to IATA. In Europe and the US, where ancillary charges are already going up, the figures were $5 and $17, respectively.
Cheap flights can be found for now as airlines compete for a handful of passengers, while inklings of a recovery show traffic on China’s busiest routes is up at least 7% from February lows. IATA’s chief executive, Alexandre de Juniac, said the wearing of face masks might reassure passengers, but keeping middle seats empty would be challenging and reduce maximum seat capacity to below break-even levels.
"The industry has weathered storms before, but none as rough as this. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s 26,000 passenger aircraft are grounded, and some 25 million jobs are at risk. IATA has warned that carriers face a $314 billion shortfall in ticket sales this year, and half of them face bankruptcy in two to three months without government help," the author of the article concludes.
Author: Angus Whitley
Source: Bloomberg
Read the full article here