Covid -19 has taken its toll in every industry and the airline industry has been hit extremely hard by the Covid - 19 crisis. Most of the commercial, network, and operations teams are still scrambling to repatriate passengers and decide which flights to keep. The only way to withstand this crisis is to implement data-driven, action-oriented, and digitally supported flight plan to help airlines emerge stronger from this never before situation.

As the world economy is undergoing a recession and most of the countries have imposed a travel ban, the airlines companies are the most affected with no services at all. During this crisis it’s very important to stay solvent and try to lower fares to stimulate demand – where it is even possible to maintain service. Another area of concern is that most of the travelers limit their travel requirements especially to the virus affected countries out of fear of the pandemic. However, all airlines should take care with how far in the future they are putting ultra-low fares in the market. Airlines should opt for discounts and attractive offers to the travel friendly countries than to the virus infected countries.  Fear and uncertainty is impacting booking future travel. Airlines should be – and in larger measure seem to be – much more accommodating and flexible than normal. Waiving change and cancel fees and allowing flexible rebooking will help to improve brand perception, customer reviews, and remove any uncertainty for those who want to book future travel. At the same time, giving back vouchers instead of full refunds for cancelled flights is a clever way to maintain cash flow, while maintaining a customer-centric approach to cancellations.

The pandemic can stay longer but to survive in the industry the airline companies need to come out with tempting and reasonable future plans to woo the travelers for the future. The strategies can even include to make the travelers book now and travel later when it’s really safe. Through this strategy the companies can have at least an assurance that they’ll pick up when everything is normal. When the economy recovers, travelers are likely to display different behaviors and habits for online booking, preferred destinations, and for health and hygiene preferences in airports. Already, many GCC airports have adopted new screening procedures and sanitation initiatives, although in the short term this has meant increased costs without any corresponding rise in traffic.

As per a new report jointly released by Fast Future, Future Travel Experience (FTE), and the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), airlines, airports, and other air transport industry stakeholders will prioritize investment in digital transformation, automation, sustainability, innovation, and customer experience.  Safety and building trust are also highlighted as central pillars of the industry’s recovery.  Prioritizing health and safety is a given but all stakeholders must also commit to delivering a contactless, queue less and fully sanitized end-to-end travel experience that is as automated as possible. Some radical new approaches, and collaboration between all parties, are essential to achieve this vision and support the survival of the air transport industry. The survival of the travel industry depends on how well it gets adjusted to the current scenario and also going digital in every aspect for a safe and better travel experience for the passengers.

Source-Omnes Editor