Airfares could rise by 50 per cent if social distancing leads to empty middle seats
- Airlines could increase fares by 54 per cent in Asia-Pacific if flight capacity is capped under social distancing rules
- Talks between governments and aviation bodies are under way to see what standardised rules could be adopted to protect public health in a post-Covid-19 era
Travellers should brace for higher air ticket prices if carriers are expected to maintain social distancing measures on flights to reduce chances of Covid-19 infection, with airlines warning that recovery from the pandemic could be severely jeopardised if middle seats are left empty.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said airfares could soar by 54 per cent for travellers in Asia-Pacific, the highest worldwide, as airlines would be operating at nearly 40 per cent lower capacity if the middle seats were eliminated.
“[By] removing the middle seats, [the] cost of providing services is higher, eventually airlines will have to reflect that in fares to have viable operations,” Brian Pearce, IATA’s chief economist, said during a teleconference this week.
The organisation, which represents some 290 airlines accounting for 82 per cent of global air traffic, said that more than on-board social distancing, thorough and frequent cabin sanitisation, making passengers wear masks on flights and implementing other health and safety measures at airports would reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission among travellers.
Discussions among governments and aviation bodies are under way to see what standardised rules could be adopted to protect public health in a post-Covid-19 era. If more social distancing is to be enforced, “cheap travel is over”, Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO, said.
Airlines would have to increase prices as only four airlines out of 122 surveyed by IATA could break even at load factors below 62 per cent, with the other 118 carriers being loss-making.
