Bad enough that we’re getting squeezed into airplanes. Now consumers around the world are facing skyrocketing airline prices.
Bloomberg reports that corporate travel manager American Express Global Business Travel analyzed tens of thousands of client transactions on international flights to and from Asian destinations and found some serious inflation at work. A typical New York-to-Hong Kong flight in economy class cost more than twice as much this year as in 2019, and almost a third more than last year.
“Fares have been bolstered by tight capacity going into travel’s peak season and customers are eager to book, often upgrading to more expensive tickets. British Airways owner IAG SA posted a surprise quarterly profit last month and raised its outlook for the full year. Dubai’s Emirates and Singapore Airlines reported record earnings, with Australia’s Qantas on course to follow suit,” Bloomberg stated in a story in The Japan Times.
Toronto Star columnist David Olive wrote the other day that airlines are taking advantage of a demand-supply imbalance by raising prices, sometimes as much as 50%.
“The CEO of Lufthansa AG, Carsten Spohr, told financial analysts that Germany’s flagship carrier is in no rush to add more planes. The higher fares that result from limited flight availability ‘are just too much fun,’ he said.”
That’s a pretty dumb comment for an airline CEO to make, but people are so eager to hit the road that perhaps he can get away with it.
Air Canada’s operating revenue for the first quarter of this year was 90% higher than a year ago and about 10% higher than the first quarter of 2019.
“Airfares are higher than ever, planes are full,” John Bevan, chief executive at dnata Travel Group, said in a story published by The National.
“The price of air travel continues to prove the most prominent challenge, as airlines grow flight capacity to ensure the volume required meets demand.”
Virgin Voyages cruise ship. Photo Courtesy Virgin Voyages
CRUISE GROWTH ALSO SUPER STRONG
According to Cruise Hive, cruise ships are back to full occupancy (over 100% in some cases), and 31.5 million passengers are expected to set sail this year, up 6% from the previous high in 2019.
A story in Travel Off Path states that cruises departing from the U.S. were fully canceled from March 2020 until June 2021. Even when cruises returned, occupancy was just 56% in 2021, and around 75% last year.
Cruise Hive says the surge in popularity is leading to a trend of overbookings, where guests are even asked to rebook to a different cruise while being offered onboard credits and many other perks.
Flair Airlines.
FLAIR AIRLINES LEADS IN CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
A report from the CBC says Flair Airlines is leading the way in terms of airline customer satisfaction so far this year.
In the first quarter of 2023, the Canadian Transport Agency received 20.9 complaints for every 100 Flair flights. That compares to 10.7 for WestJet and 5.8 for Air Canada.
Sunwing, a leisure airline that was recently acquired by WestJet, was the second-worst carrier for complaints after Flair, with 17.4 complaints for every 100 flights. The CTA said Swoop, WestJet’s discount sister brand, was the subject of 16 complaints per 100 flights, the CBC said.
