A growing desire to travel closer to home coupled with budget constraints will put point-to-point airlines, especially LCCs, in good stead to lead post-Covid recovery, said GlobalData.
A GlobalData poll, which surveyed 1,160 people, revealed that 43 per cent of respondents will consider taking a domestic trip in the next 12 months, and 27 per cent will consider an international trip on the same continent.
New breed of budget-conscious travellers will opt to fly with LCCs over full-service carriers, says GlobalData
Gus Gardner, associate travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Domestic travel and short-haul destinations are set to dominate in 2021 as travellers seek destinations that are closer to home. With substantial demand for short-haul flights, many travellers will be seeking the most direct option.
“Airlines with a robust domestic and short-haul network will benefit from an increase in demand. Furthermore, flying longhaul is often more costly. Some travellers will be looking to curb spending, and those operating short-haul, direct routes will win customers in the immediate recovery period.”
GlobalData’s latest consumer survey, which polled more than 21,700 respondents, revealed that many consumers are concerned about their financial situation, with 87 per cent of respondents ‘extremely’, ‘quite’, or ‘somewhat’ concerned about this. Furthermore, 50 per cent of respondents in the same survey ‘somewhat’, or ‘completely’ agreed that their household budget had reduced in the last year.
Gardner added: “Many travellers will be looking to cut costs, and LCCs will likely benefit from this. Cost-cutting measures including streamlining operations and salary reductions will allow LCCs to push ticket prices to new lows to win over budget-conscious travellers that historically would have used full-service carriers.”
Legacy airlines will have the advantage of deploying higher capacity widebody aircraft onto short-haul routes in response to surges in demand, said GlobalData. However, it added, widebody aircraft are often configured for long-distance routes, with low-density seating not as well suited for short-haul flying. Moreover, the cost per seat will be higher for airlines opting for this strategy and will result in LCCs being in a stronger position.
Gardner concluded: “By flying directly as opposed to travelling via a hub airport, travellers will eliminate any unnecessary stops where they could inadvertently mix with passengers from around the world, which would notably increase the risk. With point-to-point carriers eliminating the unnecessary stopover and offering the quickest journey time, travellers will be more likely to pay extra to guarantee a perceivably higher level of safety.”
A growing desire to travel closer to home coupled with budget constraints will put point-to-point airlines, especially LCCs, in good stead to lead post-Covid recovery, said GlobalData.
A GlobalData poll, which surveyed 1,160 people, revealed that 43 per cent of respondents will consider taking a domestic trip in the next 12 months, and 27 per cent will consider an international trip on the same continent.
Gus Gardner, associate travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Domestic travel and short-haul destinations are set to dominate in 2021 as travellers seek destinations that are closer to home. With substantial demand for short-haul flights, many travellers will be seeking the most direct option.
“Airlines with a robust domestic and short-haul network will benefit from an increase in demand. Furthermore, flying longhaul is often more costly. Some travellers will be looking to curb spending, and those operating short-haul, direct routes will win customers in the immediate recovery period.”
GlobalData’s latest consumer survey, which polled more than 21,700 respondents, revealed that many consumers are concerned about their financial situation, with 87 per cent of respondents ‘extremely’, ‘quite’, or ‘somewhat’ concerned about this. Furthermore, 50 per cent of respondents in the same survey ‘somewhat’, or ‘completely’ agreed that their household budget had reduced in the last year.
Gardner added: “Many travellers will be looking to cut costs, and LCCs will likely benefit from this. Cost-cutting measures including streamlining operations and salary reductions will allow LCCs to push ticket prices to new lows to win over budget-conscious travellers that historically would have used full-service carriers.”
Legacy airlines will have the advantage of deploying higher capacity widebody aircraft onto short-haul routes in response to surges in demand, said GlobalData. However, it added, widebody aircraft are often configured for long-distance routes, with low-density seating not as well suited for short-haul flying. Moreover, the cost per seat will be higher for airlines opting for this strategy and will result in LCCs being in a stronger position.
Gardner concluded: “By flying directly as opposed to travelling via a hub airport, travellers will eliminate any unnecessary stops where they could inadvertently mix with passengers from around the world, which would notably increase the risk. With point-to-point carriers eliminating the unnecessary stopover and offering the quickest journey time, travellers will be more likely to pay extra to guarantee a perceivably higher level of safety.”