From Pleasure Flights to Grounded Catering, Globetrender’s free Aviation Trend Briefing reveals eight trends for the future of air travel in 2021 and beyond.
Globetrender’s free Aviation Trend Briefing was produced in association with Inmarsat Aviation for its virtual FlightPlan conference, and reveals eight trends for the future of commercial aviation. It can be downloaded for free, here.
Here is an excerpt from the “No Refunds” trend: “As the pandemic shows little sign of abating in much of the world and airline debt mounts, many carriers will cease to offer refunds (if they haven’t already).
“Ryanair is one such example – when England announced a second lockdown for November 2020 it said it would not be issuing refunds for flights it was still operating, even though the UK government had banned all but essential travel.
“With many airlines insisting on issuing vouchers instead of returning cash, consumers will in effect be propping up the industry with money from their own pockets.”
As everyone knows, government reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic have placed severe restrictions on the public’s ability and willingness to travel – and the knock-on effect is a starvation diet for airlines, who are struggling to fill their planes.
According to Inmarsat’s “Passenger Confidence Tracker”, the largest global survey of air passengers since the pandemic began – revealing the attitudes of 9,500 air travellers from 12 countries – UK flying habits are set to change for good, with 75 per cent of British people not expecting to return to their previous travel routines once the pandemic is over.
Philip Balaam, president of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Our ‘Passenger Confidence Tracker’ reveals a fascinating shift in travel behaviour, which could see air travel entirely reshaped.
“While people in the UK are amongst the most confident to return to the skies in the short term, the findings reveal that they remain concerned by points of engagement and proximity with others on their journey.
“As such, there is a clear opportunity for airlines to implement digital solutions – from telemedicine to in-flight immigration clearance – that boost confidence, while ensuring stringent health and safety needs can be met.”
While there is undeniable bad news to contend with – from job cuts to bankruptcy – from the trend forecaster’s point of view, the crisis is also providing fertile conditions for innovation.
Problem-solving requires creativity, and creativity means coming up with new ideas – be they more streamlined business models, new revenue streams or fresh collaborations and partnerships. Globetrender’s new trend report gives key insights into how the airline industry is adapting…
What’s coming next? Trend reports available to download HERE
