3 minute read
Simon Ward In the Spotlight Part 1
Amenities has taken the opportunity to catch up with Simon Ward, one of the leading independent experts on airline onboard amenities and founder of The TravelPlus Airline Amenity Awards. We hear his thoughts on this unique year, and what he thinks the airline onboard amenities industry will look like moving forward.
How has the pandemic impacted the airline and onboard amenity industry?
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No other industry sector has been as badly affected by the pandemic; global aviation is facing its worst crisis in living memory. We have witnessed 20 airlines going bust so far this year, with around 5,000 passenger aircrafts mothballed, as well as the early retirement Boeing 747’s and Airbus a380’s.
This has devastated the onboard services sector with many suppliers fighting for survival with cancelled orders and no new business. Airlines have been selling comfort items online to loyal customers in an effort to liquidate their containers and warehouses full of pre-ordered stock.
In the early days of the pandemic, all the suppliers rushed to compete for the airlines demand for PPE equipment, however, all were similar in content and design. More recently a number of suppliers have differentiated themselves by developing brands such as TravelShield ™ by WESSCO International, #flysafe from Spiriant and Wet & Clean from FORMIA.
When do you expect to see the industry start to recover?
I anticipate that the airlines recovery will be driven by leisure tourism and domestic travel in Q3 2021. With more people working from home, business travel will not be as prevalent. I would expect that long-haul international carriers will continue to face the biggest challenges as they are more dependent on business travellers.
Long haul flight recovery will be constrained by travel corridors, entry restrictions and in some cases bilateral agreements between nations. The lack of business travel could see some routes become commercially unviable, which will mean less choice for passengers in the longer term. All of which will suppress the demand for new onboard passenger amenities.
What impact will this have on the cabin classes in the future?
I would expect to see a reduction in First and Business class, as one demographic now flies privately, and corporate budgets are forcing others to fly economy, so I think we will defiantly see an escalation in premium economy seats. A number of airlines prior to the pandemic had announced that they were planning new developments in this class.
I believe there will be a rapid decline of First Class; Qatar Airways has already made an announcement that they are planning to get rid of their First Class after they retire their A380s.
I read recently the suggestion of an ‘Isolation Class’ and the name suggests it will be fitted with a personal ventilator! The article went on to say that some passengers like the idea of travelling in a self-contained unit. This class already exists in Business and First Class so I don’t believe we will see this class onboard any day soon.
What do you think airlines need to focus on moving forward?
Going forward the most important innovations without a doubt will be green technology. COVID-19 coincided with growing concerns about the climate emergency, and airlines were already under pressure to provide solutions. The race is truly on to find greener aviation fuel and develop hydrogen-powered aircraft. Airlines will of course become greener as they use more environment friendly jets Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s and Airbus A350’s and fly fewer routes, but the pressure to find truly greener alternatives is real.
This being the case suppliers will be seeking alternatives to the plastic items still found in most amenity kits, plastic comb, folding hairbrush, toothbrush’s as well as tubes of toothpaste and cosmetics. To be fair, many had already started the move away from single use plastic but as with most green technology the investment cost increases so airlines will need to start investing more in onboard amenities in the coming years.
Do you think the onboard passenger experience will change as they return to travelling?
There have been a number of suggestions over the last couple of months, including air vents in headrests, and seat dividers that range from cardboard to plastic to encourage separation between passengers.
However, I think in reality the biggest change passenger will notice is that cabins will be cleaner as airlines clean them more regularly, and more thoroughly. Alongside this, I think the wearing of masks by both passengers and crew will remain, and inflight services will continue to be reduced to mitigate the number of touch points throughout a journey.
Passengers may also see an increase in the offering of use of single use items; for example a dental kit being available in the onboard lavatories along with hand sanitizer.
