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Air travel demand 'normalising' after COVID boom, officers state

Need for air travel has normalised after a yearslong boom following the COVID19 pandemic as holidaymakers and visitors baulk at higher fares, executives at significant airline companies stated at the Farnborough Airshow on Monday.

Guliz Ozturk, CEO of Turkey's low-cost Pegasus Airlines , stated the airline company expected yields - a step of average fare paid per mile by each passenger - to be flat as customers go back to basics.

Travellers are searching for the most cost reliable method to travel, she said.

We have actually begun seeing the normalisation of demand. What does it mean? I indicate, the demand exists, but now the visitors are searching for, as before the pandemic, for the most inexpensive, the most affordable, the best price for their travel, she stated.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson stated he anticipated the global market to moderate for the next six months, while the CEO of BA-owner IAG, Luis Gallego, said organization travel was still recovering from the COVID crisis when travel almost ground to a stop with borders shut and aircrafts grounded.

The comments followed Ryanair reported previously on Monday a bigger than anticipated drop in quarterly revenue as fares plunged 15%, with management saying that ticket prices were continuing to deteriorate.

Some European airlines reported weaker than anticipated initially quarter outcomes, with their cost has a hard time set to carry over into second quarter results too. Lufthansa cut its revenue target for the second time this year earlier this month.

Gallego said need was still strong for flights within Europe, but yields were under pressure, which was shown in the Ryanair results.

SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS

The executives regreted ongoing shipment hold-ups from planemakers Airplane and Boeing, in addition to supply chain constraints.

Production slots at the two dominant planemakers are sold out for many years, leading to long wait times for airline companies wanting to change and grow their fleets.

For Pegasus, which has set out an ambitious growth trajectory but said it would not sign any airplane orders at the air program this week, Ozturk said much better coordination and communication with Plane on hold-ups would help with preparation.

Even a two, 3 week (delay) for a July airplane is so critical for an airline company, and they (Airplane) need to overcome this in such a way, optimise the processes, Ozturk stated.

In India, there's a lot appetite for growth that Air India is robbing its own airplanes for parts to keep other aircrafts flying.

We have 30 airplane on the ground for desire of spare parts, Wilson said, adding that he anticipated plane shipment hold-ups to last a good couple of years.

Darren Hulst, Boeing's vice president of commercial marketing, acknowledged that the producer should to do much better by its clients.

There's no doubt we've disappointed our consumers, and we have actually dissatisfied them, you understand, over and over once again, in many cases, Hulst said, describing delivery delays.

We require to create that stability so that we can provide not just a quality plane, but a quality airplane when we tell our consumers that it's going to be provided, he added.

(source: Reuters)