Could the price of airline tickets go up? At least that’s what the president of the International Air Transport Association and former CEO of Air France said, Alexander of Juniac. In an interview with French media, he was very concerned about the future of air transport. His intervention focused on the possible neutralization of the central seats, in the rows of aircraft, in order to enforce social distancing, to fight against the spread of the new coronavirus. Faced with such a decision, Alexander of Juniac warned that it would have consequences. The president of the International Air Transport Association has said that flying a 2/3 full plane is not profitable.
A rise that could lead the sector into a fall
According to him, “Either the plane can fly and we earn a tiny bit of money on the flight, or it cannot fly … or else we increase the price of tickets and it’s at least 50%, it’s not not nothing “. This price increase could cause the airline industry to fall. For Alexander of Juniac, the airline industry has been trying everything for 30 years to be open to more people. To believe the former boss ofAir France, increasing the price of tickets, “Would be a considerable setback”. It should be noted that over the past ten years, air transport has been increasing continuously, thanks to low costs and an increase in the number of destinations.
1.2 billion fewer passengers
Air traffic has almost doubled in volume, from 2.5 billion passengers in 2009 to 4.5 billion in 2019. However, the coronavirus crisis is likely to be felt in the aviation sector. This year, traffic could decrease by more than 25%, that is to say 1.2 billion fewer passengers. “It is not certain that neutralizing the seat will minimize the transmission of the virus, which is already very weak on board. If passengers all wear masks, if the cabin is disinfected, if pre-packaged food is distributed, if passengers are asked not to take too much luggage in the cabin, this can limit and practically eradicate the risk of transmission to edge “ added Alexander of Juniac.
Airline companies therefore hope that the conditions under which the takeover will be carried out in the countries will not be severe enough.
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