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US$300m Kumasi International Airport nears completion
Kumasi Airport Landside Facade
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onstruction of a new terminal building and other ancillary works at the Kumasi Airport is nearing completion, a visit by AviationGhana to the facility has revealed. In June 2018, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the second phase of the expansion of Kumasi Airport, which is
expected to be completed in 24 months. The project, valued at about US$300 million, comprised the extension of the runway from 1,981m to 2,300m to accommodate Boeing 737-800 series aircraft, construction of a new two-story ultra-modern terminal, construction of additional aprons, restaurants, shopping and
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African aviation set for a dismal 2020 African aviation’s recovery will be weaker than expected and reach just 30% of 2019 levels, the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) has predicted. In absolute numbers, the region is expected to see around 45 million travelers in 2020 rising to 70 million travelers in 2021. A full return to 2019 levels (155 million travelers) is not expected until late 2023. PAGE 02
ICAO encourages proactive pursuit of public health corridor, travel bubble solutions ICAO Secretary General Fang Liu has called for a continuous “proactive pursuit of public health corridor and other near-term travel bubble solutions,” to sustain recent increases in domestic passenger and freight movements especially in the ICAO Asia-Pacific (APAC) region She told a special roundtable of Asia-Pacific APAC health policy and civil aviation experts on Thursday that their public health response PAGE 03
successes, and related efforts to establish public health corridors and travel bubbles, are helping to reconnect the region and restore public confidence in air travel. Dr. Liu also highlighted how ICAO’s data monitoring is revealing that regions with higher levels of intraregional traffic are seeing a more rapid restoration in air services.
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US$300m Kumasi International Airport nears completion
Level 1 Check-in Area Finishes for Kumasi Airport
parking areas, and a ring road around the airport.
It’s expected that the new terminal will have the capacity to handle one million passengers per annum. The expansion project was part of the multi-modal transportation system being developed by the government to enhance tourism in the Ashanti Region. Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, is the busiest domestic destination and it is served by both PassionAir and Africa World Airlines (AWA). PassionAir and AWA, for instance, operate 20 flights per day between Accra and Kumasi. Industry data show
that in 2019, a total of 16,499 people travelled by air between the two cities. Tourism in Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is the most populous and one of the fastestgrowing regions in the country, with an estimated population of 4million. Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, has historically been an important reference for the use of Adinkra symbols and craftsmanship. With sprawling vegetation cover, the city is an important tourist destination noted for its commerce, mining and handicrafts.
Over the past two decades there has been rapid growth in commercial activities in the city, chiefly because of its ideal location in the middle-belt of the country. After Accra, Kumasi is the second-largest city in Ghana in terms of size and population. Traders, farmers and cattle owners from Brong Ahafo and the northern parts of Ghana bring their wares to large markets in Kumasi to sell every day. https://www.gacl.com.gh/flights/
African aviation set for a dismal 2020
Though domestic travel is picking up across Africa as countries re-open their borders, international travel remains heavily constrained as major markets including the EU remain closed to citizens of African nations. Currently, residents from only two African countries–Rwanda and Tunisia–
are permitted to enter EU borders. “The further fall in passenger traffic in 2020 is more bad news for the aviation industry in Africa,” said Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. “A few months ago, we thought that demand reaching 45% across the
continent in 2020 compared to 2019 was as grim as it could get. But with international travel remaining virtually non-existent and a slower than expected pick up in domestic travel, we have revised our expectations downward to 30%.” Four airlines across Africa have ceased operations due to the impact of COVID-19 and two are in voluntary administration, with many more in serious financial distress. IATA notes that without urgent financial relief more carriers and their employees are at risk, as is the wider African air transport industry,
which supports 7.7 million jobs on the continent. The governments of Rwanda, Senegal, Côte D’Ivoire and Burkina Faso have pledged a total of $311 million in direct financial support to air transport. A further $30 billion has been promised by various governments, international finance bodies and other institutions including the African Development Bank, African Export Import Bank, African Union, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, most of this relief is yet reach those in need.
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ICAO encourages proactive pursuit of public health corridor, travel bubble solutions CONTINUED FROM COVER
“Yours is one such region,” she recognised, “and it’s important that government and industry decision makers continue to build upon this region’s public health and air transport results.” In addition to the pandemic response and air transport successes
highlighted, the ICAO Secretary General also recognised the severe socio-economic impacts of the pandemic which are still being felt by many APAC countries, and the $100 billion in lost 2020 APAC operator revenues ICAO has forecast. “These aviation impacts have
imperilled businesses large and small, and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people worldwide,” she said. “From a global standpoint they have been significantly more severe than any previous downturn in the international movement of people and goods, and their very dire effects on airport and airline financial viability could yet mean that we re-emerge with a far less connected world postpandemic.” “We must also recognize that these negative socio-economic impacts are being felt very acutely by the 14 Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) in this region,” she underscored. Revisions to COVID-19 response guidance Dr. Liu noted that there are current revisions being undertaken to the COVID-19 response guidance issued by the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART), noting that “public health authorities should take particular note of its updated guidelines, once approved by the ICAO Council, relating to general hygiene, masks and face coverings,
health screening and declarations, air passengers with reduced mobility, and the mental health and well-being of aviation workers and passengers.” “Specific attention has also been aimed at helping countries assess testing options as a means to alleviate quarantine measures — if appropriate for their situation —, and, as medical factors permit, augment the international movement of people and goods,” she emphasised. The Aviation-Public Health Experts’ Roundtable, held under the auspices of the ICAO Asia Pacific Regional Office, brought together aviation and public health thought-leaders from the Region to exchange ideas, promote understanding and build consensus to help pave the way for safe resumption of international air travel. Senior Officials from both Public Health and Aviation sectors from Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the discussions
AFRAA 52ND General Assembly Scheduled For November 9-10
The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) and TAAG Angola will host the 52nd Annual General Assembly in a virtual format on the 09 and 10
November 2020. The premier African air transport industry event will gather over 500 high profile African and global aviation leaders to draw a roadmap for
a successful restart and recovery of the African aviation industry. Held under the theme, “Redefining Air Transport for a New Era”, the assembly is set to deliberate on strategies to navigate the impacts of COVID-19 and embark on a new era for the industry. Speaking ahead of the summit, Abdérahmane Berthé, AFRAA’s Secretary General, said: “AFRAA has been at the forefront of key efforts to support the African aviation ecosystem during these exceptional times. This Assembly will be the platform through which we will chart a new course, determine the strategic next steps towards a more resilient and vibrant African air transport market.” On his part, TAAG Angola Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rui Carreira, commented: “2020 has been a very difficult year. African carriers faced daunting challenges way before COVID-19. The pandemic has severely impacted the air transport industry and African airlines have been adversely affected in their operations. This summit will be the opportunity for our fraternity to reset and map the way forward.” The spectrum of deliberations at the assembly will focus on issues of concern to the industry including
collaborative strategies for recovery and sustainability; Air transport recovery trends and building blocks for the continent, alignment of the tourism and the air transport sectors for recovery, getting back to business beyond 2020, among other high-level discussions. Registration for the AGA is open through the dedicated event website: https://aga52.afraa.org/. AFRAA, is a trade association of airlines from the member states of the African Union (AU). Founded in Accra, Ghana, in April 1968, and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, AFRAA’s mission is to promote, serve African Airlines and champion Africa’s aviation industry. The Association envisions a sustainable, interconnected and affordable Air Transport industry in Africa where African Airlines become key players and drivers to African economic development. AFRAA membership of 45 airlines cuts across the entire continent and includes all the major intercontinental African operators. The Association members represent over 85% of total international traffic carried by African airlines. (Source: Aviationbusinessjournal)
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Uncovering the DNA of a Profitable Future
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he COVID-crisis has uncovered a need for airlines to change, and fast. There is an upside to this new imperative. There has never been a more necessary time for far-reaching transformation in our industry than now. To be successful, the airline voice needs to be at the center of new thinking and technology. As the results unfold, the Air Transformation Lab team has identified early emerging themes, which are explored below. 1. Expanded reach With the sharp drop in customer demand, distribution steps out as the hero. Airlines acknowledge the need to be everywhere that makes sense and are working to broaden their distribution portfolios. An example of this trend is the keen focus on evolving existing distribution strategies and enhanced channel
relationships. 2. In turbulent times, airlines need control Cost-saving and scalable offer innovation are two factors driving an uptick in airline-controlled offers with NDC. To make the most of available internal resources, airlines are opting to build their NDC APIs and supporting programs in-house. Others view the path of partnering with an experienced tech provider as a cost-saving and value speed-to-market as a way to futureproof their strategy. Emirates is redefining its distribution mix through a major focus on its Emirates Online B2B strategy with an emphasis on getting closer engagement with travel agencies and customers. At the same time, Air France/KLM is changing its distribution economics by treating the GDS as an aggregator and has introduced multiple levels of surcharges to optimize channels.
Meanwhile, in Latin America, one prominent carrier is putting airlinecontrolled offer engines and NDC behind all channels, including its new airline-controlled Internet Booking Engine, to realize a “single source of truth” strategy.
automation to the travel experience to meet the expectations of younger customers.
3. Stimulate and capitalize on demand, there’s everything to play for
Many airlines find themselves blindsided by the disruption of historical data for demand forecasting. As such, responsiveness and flexibility have become a lifeline. There is ‘everything to play for’.
Airlines need to stimulate and maximize the value from demand but cite a slew of barriers to overcome. For example, the disruption of lucrative customer segments, such as business travel, has upended many traditional strategies, from route networks to frequent flier marketing.
Against the backdrop of the COVID emergency, Lufthansa Group has prioritized its continuous pricing strategy. It is rolling out continuous pricing across all channels to quickly react to market changes, take advantage of spikes in demand, and better serve new customer segments.
American Airlines reports that 90% of its business now is leisure and that travelers often come from a different demographic than pre-COVID times. As a result, American Airlines has introduced innovative leisure bundles to support the needs of less seasoned travelers and have added more
Airline executives acknowledge that thinking about mid- to long-term strategy is a challenge when, more often than not, survival is the daily focus. However, these leaders are keenly aware that recovery will come. Those who can, are planning to win. (IATA)
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Top airlines lose US$110billion in revenue
The entire airline industry took a tremendous hit in 2020; with countries worldwide shutting down borders and limiting travel as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Massive cancellations of flights to control the spread of the virus led to huge drops in airline passenger revenues and caused staggering losses to the world’s largest airline companies. According to data presented by StockApps.com, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Lufthansa Group, United Airlines, Air France, and the International Airlines Group, as the world’s largest public airline companies based on sales, lost US$110bn in revenue since the beginning of 2020. US Airlines Lost US$63.9bn Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Pretty much every major airline has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic this year. However, US airline companies have witnessed the biggest drop in revenues since the beginning of 2020. Between January and March, Delta Air Lines, as the world’s largest airline based on sales, lost $1.8bn. The company’s earnings report showed the second quarter of the year delivered six-time severer loss, with revenue plunging by 88% year-overyear to $1.4bn. The strong negative
trend continued between June and September, with the company losing another $9.5bn after the coronavirus pandemic ruined what is typically a peak summer travel period. Delta’s net loss was $5.4bn in the third quarter, compared to a profit of $1.5bn in the year-earlier period. Statistics show the world’s leading airline lost $22.4bn in YTD revenue, the worst hit among the six leading companies. American Airlines, the second-largest airline on this list and the leading airline by flown passenger kilometers, lost $21.1bn in revenue since the beginning of the year. Statistics show the company reported the most significant loss in the second quarter of 2020, with revenues plunging by 86.4% year-over-year to $1.6bn, compared to $11.9bn in the same period a year ago. Third-quarter revenue was down 73% YoY to $3.1bn, following a 59% YoY reduction in total available seat miles. United Airlines, as the third-largest US airline company and the fourth-largest globally, reported a $20.4bn loss in the three quarters of 2020, a 63% decrease year-over-year. Third-quarter results revealed a massive $8.8bn revenue drop after the company already reported a $10bn loss between March and June. The Yahoo Finance data also revealed United Airlines witnessed the most
significant drop in market cap among the three leading airlines in the United States, with the combined value of the company’s shares plunging by 57% YoY to around $9.5bn. Statistics show the combined revenues of the three largest US airline companies crashed by $63.9bn since the beginning of 2020. Three Largest European Airlines Lost $45.9bn in Revenue Although the US airlines have taken the hardest hit amid the coronavirus crisis, the European companies also reported tremendous losses in 2020. The world’s third-largest airline based on sales and the largest in Europe, Lufthansa Group, reported a $10.6bn revenue loss in the first half of 2020. The financial report of the German company showed traffic fell significantly due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sales (revenue passenger-kilometers) plunged by 65% year-on-year, while capacity (available passenger-kilometers) was cut by 61% in this period. After laying off 8,300 employees between January and March, the H1 2020 financial statement confirmed that 22,000 more are to follow as a part of its “ReNew” program. Air France suffered a $20.4bn YTD revenue loss. The company’s third-
quarter results showed the passenger network activity was reduced to around 40% of last year’s levels. The tightening of travel restrictions, border closures, and the lack of corporate travel delayed the expected traffic recovery. July and August were relatively strong in terms of traffic compared to a disappointing September affected by restrictive travel measures. Third-quarter revenues plunged by 68.3% to 2bn euros, or $2.3bn, while net income loss amounted to over 1.6bn euros, a 2bn euros decrease compared to last year. International Airlines Group, as the sixth-largest airline company globally, witnessed a $14.9bn revenue loss between January and September. The financial report of the Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company showed passenger capacity operated in third quarter plunged 78.6% year-onyear, and 64.3% for the period of nine months. AIG also reported an operating loss for the nine months of 3.2bn euros or around $3.7bn, compared to over 2.5bn euros operating profit a year ago. Statistics indicate the combined revenues of the three largest European airlines crashed by $45.9bn since the beginning of the year. (Source: Traveldailynews)
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Saudi Arabia: The Red Sea Project, Embracing Nature
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rchitecture studios; Kengo Kuma and Associates and Foster + Partners, are designing a tourism development on an archipelago of Saudi Arabian islands within the Red Sea, which will be served by its own dedicated airport. Named The Red Sea Project, the development will be built on a chain of 90 undeveloped islands between the cities of Umluj and Al Wajh on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. It is billed by The Red Sea Development Company as “the world’s most ambitious tourism development” and forms part of the country’s push to increase international tourism. Kuma seeks “to embrace the natural setting” While Kengo Kuma and Associates will design 100 holiday villas for the scheme, Foster + Partners will create an airport to serve the development and several hotels. “We were attracted to The Red Sea Development Company as we shared the client’s vision to create a unique luxury tourism destination in the Middle East,” Kengo Kuma told Dezeen. “This is a resort which seeks to embrace the natural setting and rich cultural history of the region.” Ahead of the Phase One opening in 2022, Kuma’s studio designed 100 villas on Ummahat Al Shaykh Island, some of which will be built directly over the water. Kuma designing villas and restaurants for resort
The studio also designed two speciality restaurants, one on land and one overwater, as well as a community building, a spa, a reception pavilion, housekeeping villas and a guest jetty. “The design for our assets was inspired by the beautifully natural occurring elements of the island,” said Kuma. “The relatively flat terrain of the island suggested a design that works with low, horizontal volumes and that we should look to gently curve the roof of the buildings to find a harmonious relationship with the ground, with roofs emerging from the ground.” The villas that will be built on the islands were designed to emulate sand dunes, while the overwater “coral villas” have a spiralled form that provides 360-degree-views of the surrounding sea. “The landscape which surrounds the dune villas compliments this architectural language and frames the buildings with artificial sand dunes and locally sourced vegetation,” said Kuma. “The plan of the coral villas reflects the form of the buildings, gently looping upwards, creating an inner sea courtyard, and securing privacy from neighbouring buildings.” Foster designing resort’s dedicated airport The speciality restaurant on the water and the guest getty will also be informed by coral reefs, with the guest jetty featuring a curve canopy resembling a shell that covers the main space.
“The best location for the water buildings was chosen through accurate bathymetry investigation, biodiversity studies and marine engineering studies, in an attempt to prevent any damage to the coral reef and avoiding interfering with the sea currents,” Kuma said. To serve the villas Foster + Partners’ is designing a number of larger buildings for The Red Sea Project including several hotels and its own dedicated airport. “We are working on a number of projects in the region including the state-of-the-art Red Sea International Airport as well as three major luxury developments: the Southern Dunes, located in the mountainous region inland, and Ummahat Al Sheikh and Shurayrah islands, two exclusive island resorts located off the Red Sea coast,” Foster + Partners head of studio Gerard Evenden told Dezeen. Development “grounded in sustainability” The Red Sea Development Company describes the development as “grounded in sustainability and sustainable tourism”, and both architecture teams have aimed to minimise the impact of the structures being built. “Our proposals are respectful of the extreme environmental sensitivity of the region, taking a ‘light-touch’ approach that will have the least detrimental impact on the wonderful biodiversity of the islands,” Evenden said. Offsite manufacturing will be used to reduce construction time frames and
waste and The Red Sea Development Company aimed to use as little concrete as possible. “When choosing materials for the project, The Red Sea Development Company had instructed us to avoid the use of concrete as much as possible in order to set new standards at the destination site,” Kuma said. “The remote and pristine site suggested the use of prefabrication systems. We are using a mix of volumetric and panelised prefabrication.” Kengo Kuma and Associates will use salt-resistant Accoya wood, suitable for the saline-high environment, and clay plaster for its designs. By 2022, The Red Sea Project will have developed five of the islands in the archipelago as well as two inland sites. In 2030, when the project is complete, 22 islands and six inland sites will have been developed. Saudi Arabia is developing tourism sites across the country. Foster + Partners is also designing an international airport at the Prince Mohammad bin Salman Natural Reserve in Saudi Arabia. The “mirage-inspired” international airport was criticised by the Architects Climate Action Network for going against the ideals of the Architects Declare movement. The post Kengo Kuma and Foster + Partners designing “world’s most ambitious tourism development” in Saudi Arabia appeared first on Dezeen. (Source: MSN)
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South Africa: Airbnb ‘flood’ squeezes Cape Town property prices
BY JOAN MULLER
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irbnb, which was warmly welcomed to the global travel scene when it first introduced its tech-enabled home sharing model a decade ago, is now facing a rather chilly reception from local authorities in many cities across the globe. Criticism levelled against the San Francisco-founded rental platform, which has more than 7-million listings in over 220 countries, was already mounting before the coronavirus hit in March. In particular, Airbnb was accused of driving up housing costs for locals, and destroying the character of historic districts in popular tourist capitals. But Covid-19 and the subsequent travel restrictions has raised fresh concern about Airbnb’s impact on housing markets in major cities. According to this report in the New York Times, local authorities in a number of European cities are now using the pandemic as an opportunity to impose new laws to curb further growth of short-term apartment rentals in city centres. The idea behind that, it seems, is to force landlords to place short-term rental properties back on the long-term market to increase housing stock levels for locals. Amsterdam, apparently, has already banned vacation rentals in the heart of the old city. In the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, the local government is renting empty apartments from landlords and subletting them to lower income
residents as subsidised housing. In Spain’s Barcelona, authorities are also looking at similar measures to alleviate the city’s housing shortage, while Berlin has warned of a crackdown on short-term leasing platforms “trying to evade regulation’’. And Paris has gone as far as planning a referendum, hoping to limit the number of days per year that a property can be rented on Airbnb-type listings. It’s not exactly promising, especially at a time when Airbnb is planning to sell its shares on the Nasdaq exchange in the US for the first time. Last week, Reuters reported that Airbnb was targeting a New York listing before the end of the year. It hopes to raise $3bn in this initial public offering, which would give it a value of more than $30bn and make it one of the world’s most valuable stock market entrants for 2020. Meanwhile, in our own backyard, Airbnb has also been a cause — albeit unintentionally — of disruptions to the delicate balance of supply and demand in SA’s rental market. Local industry experts say the collapse of tourism, due to the lockdown, has led to thousands of empty Airbnb apartments being put back on the longterm rental market, which is placing huge pressure on rental growth and eroding buy-to-let returns. The latest figures from PayProp show that rental growth across SA slowed to a slight 1.6% year-on-year in the second quarter — sharply down from 3.9% a year earlier. To put that in context, it’s the lowest quarterly growth rate in the rental index’s eight-year history. Johette Smuts, who is head of data
and analytics at PayProp, says that a widespread loss of income during the lockdown is one of the main reasons for the slump. But she believes that rentals have also been further suppressed by the return of Airbnb rentals to the longterm market. Michelle Dickens, MD of credit bureau TPN which tracks various residential rental market metrics, voiced a similar sentiment in a recent blog, which flagged the surge in rental properties standing empty across SA. TPN’s data shows that the national vacancy rate has jumped to a record high of 11.39% in the third quarter — up from the first quarter’s pre-Covid rate of 7.47%. The biggest oversupply of rental properties is at the top end of the market: 14% of all properties on the market for between R12,000 and R25,000 per month are standing empty. In the luxury rental market, for properties priced above R25,000 per month, vacancies are a whopping 23%. Dickens says this dynamic is being fuelled by the fact that pricier shortterm accommodation is now being put on the long-term letting market. Estate agents say this trend is especially evident in SA’s tourist epicentre of Cape Town, which is believed to have close to 20,000 Airbnb listings. Cape Town property prices fall Ross Levin, MD for Seeff Atlantic seaboard & City Bowl, says the market has been “flooded” with Airbnb apartments, which has placed pressure on rental rates all round. Levin says some Airbnb landlords are even having to store furniture to make their properties more attractive to long-
term residential tenants. “Property owners will need to continue their compromise by offering lower rentals to fill units and mitigate losses,” he says. This pressure on rentals in the Mother City is obviously bad news for buy-to-let investors, but there is a positive spin-off for tenants: it’s making the city a more affordable place to live. This isn’t all about Covid though. According to the recent State of Cape Town Central City Report 2019 — A Year in Review, rentals in the CBD already came under pressure last year. The report, which is published annually by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID), provides a deep dive into the economy of the Mother City’s central city. It turns out that rentals for both one and two bedroom apartments dropped by close to 5% in 2019 year-on-year to an average of R12,723 and R19,666 per month respectively. Rentals for smaller studio units were up slightly from R10,713 to R11,289. But it also means would-be buyers are now getting even more bang for their buck: The number of apartments sold in Cape Town’s city centre tumbled from 373 in 2018 to 173 in 2019. It meant average prices fell by 14.3% over the year — from R2.1m to R1.8m. Last year was the first, since the report launched in 2012, that residential property prices in the city centre fell. Contrast that to the four years leading up to 2018 -when prices surged 90% — and you have a sense of how significant the shift really is. But despite this weaker housing market, Rob Kane, chair of the CCID, says Cape Town’s city centre continues to lure developers and property investors. Kane says the “new urbanism” trend is gaining traction, which is boosting demand for downtown living. Property developers have responded by reinventing many of the city’s tired and half-empty office buildings as vibrant live, work and play precincts. For example, says Kane, there is the R373m redevelopment of the old Absa building into Foreshore Place, which will comprise 11 floors of residential units above 15 floors of commercial space and retail outlets on the ground floor. He says there are at least six similar mixed-use projects currently being built in the CBD. Though the pandemic falls beyond the ambit of the report, there is a section which includes some thought-provoking reflections on “surviving Covid-19” by a number of experts. This includes Wesgro CEO Tim Harris, Economic Development Partnership CEO Andrew Boraine, tourism consultants HTI CEO Wayne Troughton, Investec economist Brian Kantor and Arthur Kamp, chief economist at Sanlam Investments. (Businesslive.co.za)
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World: Changes and challenges of the aviation industry
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ir travel changed dramatically in 2020.The things we used to complain about, like baggage fees and overhead bin space, dwarf concerns we have today because of COVID-19. November is National Aviation Month, and there might not be a time when the aviation industry has evolved as much as what we’re experiencing today, except for perhaps 1903 when Wilbur and Orville Wright piloted that first successful flight. Simply stated, air travel is just different now. Passengers on commercial airlines are concerned for their safety, and rightfully so. Before the pandemic, we could board an airplane and feel completely confident in the skills of our pilots and the safety of our aircraft. And we still can – that has not changed. However, it’s impossible to practice social distancing on a commercial airplane. During the 2019 fiscal year, airlines reported a passenger load factor of 84%. That percentage dropped significantly this year in March and April as demand plummeted, allowing airlines to temporarily block rows and middle seats. By May, airlines began consolidating routes, and by late summer, commercial jets once again were packed despite coronavirus cases spiking in many states. Photos of passengers sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, just like pre-pandemic days, went viral on social media. Commercial aviation is an industry
built on volume, much in the same way that subway trains and buses operate. You need to fill jets, trains and buses with paying customers to generate revenue. Industry experts believe it may be years before commercial aviation rebounds. The Lee County Port Authority recently delayed its $250 million terminal expansion project that’s been in the works for years. In December 2019, Conde Nast Traveler published an article titled “7 ways air travel will change in 2020.” If only we knew then what we know now… As 2020 concludes, here are seven ways COVID-19 has changed air travel: Safety protocols Grounds crews have minimal time between commercial flights to refuel, remove waste and restock snacks and beverages. Now, airline employees also are charged with sanitizing aircraft between flights with either a disinfectant fogger or going seat to seat with sanitizing wipes and spray. Magazines have been removed to expedite the cleaning process. Social distancing Ticket counters, security checkpoints and PA announcements offer reminders to maintain social distance. Some airport concessions remain closed or modified their hours of operation. Boarding and disembarking procedures have been tweaked, but onboard, passengers can
have a dozen or more people within their six-foot social distance bubble. On-board amenities Hot meals and sandwiches are a rarity on most domestic flights, even in first class. In fact, coach passengers don’t even have options to buy meals or alcohol on some domestic flights, or browse through the Sky Mall magazine. Recently manufactured aircraft are equipped with personal television screens, but future on-board entertainment might be limited to Wi-fi streaming to minimize touch points. Route reduction Airlines still serve destinations from coast to coast. However, routes might only be available once daily, or even just two or three times weekly. Airlines have laid off or furloughed tens of thousands of workers to trim payroll. This reduced schedule allows airlines to fill jets, but requires passengers to be flexible with their travel plans. Connecting flights Airlines have used the hub-andspoke system for decades to maximize passenger loads. In the future, nonstop routes between non-hub or non-focus airports could be few and far between. Last-minute cancelations Data is guiding airline decisions. Rather than fly two half-empty flights, airlines are canceling one and moving all passengers to the remaining flight.
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Again, that requires more flexibility on behalf of passengers, and in return, airlines have begun waiving change fees for many types of tickets. Flying privately Whether it’s for business or pleasure, people still need to get from Point A to Point B, and flying is the quickest travel option. Affluent travelers are creating unprecedented demand for alternatives. Flying privately neutralizes some of the negatives of flying commercially while offering safety reassurance, convenience and value to families and business partners who can reserve the entire jet for their travel party. Charter companies also welcome pets, don’t impose baggage limits and still offer a full selection of onboard amenities. An additional benefit is that private jets can fly into executive airports, like Naples Airport or Page Field, that are less crowded and oftentimes are closer to passengers’ final destination than an international airport. This year has been challenging for many industries, especially aviation. However, air travel remains an essential part of American life, and charter companies and commercial airlines stand ready to safety transport passengers daily to their final destination.
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