[ad_1]
Travel restrictions imposed by many countries to stop the spread of the disease have dealt a severe blow to carriers, causing air traffic to almost come to a halt in the spring. And although traffic flows have increased in the summer, they are now declining again.
According to Eurocontrol, traffic has slowed down over the last two weeks and now stands at 54%. lower than the level set last year. According to the service, traffic in August amounted to just 30 percent. Level 2019.
Furthermore, Eurocontrol is currently more pessimistic about the recovery of the sector.
In the spring, flows were forecast to be 30 percent in October. lower than in 2019, but now stands at 57 percent. recession.
As a result, although the carriers were out of cash, they began to reduce ticket prices.
According to tourism market analyst ForwardKeys, airlines cut flights from Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands to southern Europe by 15 percent in August compared to the same period last year.
The results of a study published Thursday show that flight prices on some routes have dropped by more than a third.
“Attract passengers”
“We need to encourage passengers to choose to fly again, and price is an important factor,” said Reginald Otten, easyJet France deputy general manager.
According to him, in the summer the company managed to update some routes and the planes were almost full.
“It just came to our knowledge then. Capacity, which is a very, very small indicator, given that summer is the most important and popular time to travel,” he told AFP.
Eddie Wilson, director of Ryanair’s DAC, also noted that lower prices are driving traffic.
In addition to price reductions, airlines are also focusing on the most profitable routes.
However, the reintroduction of travel restrictions and tightening of quarantine and testing measures can waste transporters’ planning and efforts.
European airlines earlier this month called on national governments to coordinate measures to curb the spread of the virus, saying the current patchwork of restrictions is hampering a return to regular travel within the European Union.
Airlines are responding to the decline in travel demand “with the means at their fingertips: reducing capacity and making attractive offers, but they do not control the development of travel restriction and pandemic policies,” said Oliver Ponti, vice president of ForwardKeys.
“As a result, the impact of low fares will be limited, especially as consumers continue to be concerned about disruptive plans and prompt ticket compensation in the event of flight cancellations,” he added.
[ad_2]
