: Covid-19 may put an end to the era of cheap air travel #IndiaNEWS After its worst two years since World War II, 2022 is looking brighter for the global airline industry. For passengers, though, the

Covid-19 may put an end to the era of cheap air travel #IndiaNEWS
After its worst two years since World War II, 2022 is looking brighter for the global airline industry. For passengers, though, the chance to travel at low cost again may prove short-lived.In 2020 international passenger demand was less than 25% that of 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association. 2021 data isn’t yet available, but the hiccups of the Delta and Omicron variants make the association’s forecasts of 50% of 2019 levels look optimistic.With international and domestic routes reopening, airlines are offering a range of special deals on airfares. These deals are partly to entice back uncertain travellers and partly to compensate passengers for costs required to travel internationally, such as fees for Covid-19 tests.But do not expect the cheap fares to last.They are likely to have a brief lifespan, as the industry comes to grips with post-pandemic realities minus the government support that enabled so many, contrary to predictions, to survive.Now comes a reckoning, as surviving airlines seek to return to viability, repair their debt-laden balance sheets and future-proof their operations, with no guarantee they will get the same government support when the next crisis hits.What this may mean is abandoning the business model of wafer-thin profit margins that delivered ever-cheaper airfares from the 1970s until the beginning...Read more

Stock Market NEWS Best intraday tips Intraday Stocks below 100