According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), international air travel has rebounded strongly this year, with the exception of the Asia-Pacific region, which is “significantly lagging behind”.
“Last year, international travel accounted for about 25% of what it was in 2019. In the first quarter of this year globally, it was up 42%,” said Willie Walsh, the industry body’s general manager.Squawk Box Asia“on Tuesday.
“In fact, what we’re seeing is very strong growth in a number of markets, from the US, Europe, Latin America, all touching 60%.”
Eg, United Airlines’ To share add more than 3% in extended trading on Monday, after the company gave an update on its second-quarter outlook.
In contrast, air travel in Asia “accounted for only about 13% of what it was in 2019,” Walsh added.
China is still pursuing zero-Covid policy, with Shanghai and Beijing tightening restrictions on business and travel. But China’s travel restrictions will not play a big role in the recovery of global air travel, he said.
He added: “The positive thing is that there are a lot of other markets opening up for airlines to have the opportunity to expand their network… to those markets.
‘Premium’ travel price hike
When asked if the airline business would return to pre-pandemic levels, Walsh said the recovery would be “a little bit slower”.
“We get a lot of business travelers traveling in the economy… business recovery is slowing down a bit,” he added.
“But I think now people will accept that it won’t have a fundamental structural change that we all believe is possible.”
On the contrary, he found that there are many “premium” tourists those traveling in first or business class.
“That points to a very important segment of the market, which we call premium entertainment … what we see there is people have more disposable income and are willing to pay for it. that premium and that experience.”
“I fully expect the premium [to] continued to recover quickly,” added Walsh.
To meet that demand, Airlines are offering luxury cabins in hopes of attracting high-paying customers for more space on board.
For example, Singapore Airlines observed that business class seats on planes sold out before economy seats, a “reverse of the pre-pandemic trend.”
Challenges for air cargo
Even as the air travel recovery gains momentum, IATA sees “several challenges” for global aviation market.
“We had record performance in 2021 and continue to improve in 2022 … but it’s only down slightly from the 2021 peak.”
Walsh mainly attributed it to Russia Attacks Ukraine. He added: “A lot of goods were transported by Russian cargo operators, security was completely destroyed.
IATA said in a report Air freight volume fell 5.2% year-on-year in March.
“The war in Ukraine has resulted in a decline in capacity used to serve Europe, as several airlines based in Ukraine and Russia are important carriers in the region,” it wrote.
“Omicron’s continued spread in Asia, and especially China, is causing new shutdowns and labor shortages. These have hit manufacturing hubs in China hard. China and Asia, which in turn affects air freight in regionally linked markets.”
