Malaysia Airlines: How we steer the business is critical
Malaysia Airlines Group COO Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi stated "Technology has been an enabler for us, it helps us to understand the customers better". Mr Ahmad added: "Going forward, we will be lean and agile and how we steer the business is critical, as we'll be working with less people and less resources".
Air Malta experiencing 'very late summer' characterised by quick booking turnarounds
Air Malta executive chairman David Curmi stated the airline is "probably suffering more than some other airlines on mainland Europe" as it doesn't have domestic or international long haul flights. Mr Curmi highlighted the airline is "running at about 55% less capacity than the pre COVID-19 scenario and a 59% reduction in traffic". However, Mr Curmi added it is experiencing "a very late summer, very late bookings spreading into November, and also December with a very, very short timeline between booking and travel".
Gol CEO expects traffic to reach pre pandemic levels by Jan-2022
Gol CEO Paulo Kakinoff stated Brazil's domestic market has recovered "much faster" than any other region, with the carrier's traffic at 70% of pre pandemic levels. Mr Kakinoff said he expects Gol to be operating at close to pre pandemic levels by Dec-2021 or Jan-2022. He added that business travel demand is climbing, with the service, agricultural and oil and gas sectors set to revert to their pre pandemic travel profile.
Wizz Air CEO: 'I think the world should be pushed towards point-to-point flying'
Wizz Air CEO József Váradi stated operating point-to-point rather than connecting through hubs "just makes sense" for consumers and from a sustainability perspective. Mr Váradi said: "I think the world should be pushed towards point-to-point flying as opposed to connecting flying". He added: "A large portion of the world's flying could be developed without connecting people through hubs. I personally think the next challenge of the industry in the coming decades will be how to fly around hubs and how to create a robust point-to-point network, which makes a lot of sense for the consumer as well as the environment".
AirAsia Group: Data has been critical in managing COVID-19
AirAsia Group COO Javed Anwar Malik stated data has been critical in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with contact tracing. Mr Malik said: "It's been around predictability, how can we use information to look at performance, forward bookings, fare pricing using dashboards for reporting", adding: "We've been building data warehouses and structuring data into a useable format". He said: "This has allowed us to do contactless experiences by knowing who we need to serve, including what demographic and age".
Industry must work with governments to reopen borders, says United Airlines regional sales director
United Airlines director of greater China, Korea and southeast Asia sales Walter Dias stated the aviation industry needs to "work very closely together to build programmes and methods to make people feel comfortable" travelling post-pandemic. Mr Dias said United Airlines spent the past 18 months "making sure that the experience from the origin airport to the aircraft and to the destination airport" is a comfortable travel experience. He noted customers are ready to travel, and the industry has to collaborate "with the private and public sectors to reopen borders".
LAM - Mozambique Airlines GM: African airline sector 'is going to be very fragile'
LAM - Mozambique Airlines GM João Carlos Pó Jorge commented on the outlook for African airlines, stating: "The industry is going to be very fragile. There will be failures". Mr Pó Jorge said LAM is planning to be "very cautious" and also noted that while some airlines will fail, others will grow.
JAL VP Asia and Oceania senior says efficient aircraft is 'the right direction'
Japan Airlines (JAL) VP Asia and Oceania marketing & strategy research Akihide Yoguchi stated "it's the right direction to have more efficient aircraft" as customers "pay more attention" to global warming and take steps to minimise carbon emissions.
Alaska Air Group VP network & alliances says 2024 outlook 'hard to say', human reconnection vital
Alaska Air Group VP network and alliances Brett Catlin stated "by 2024, it's hard to say what the carrier composition will be and what specific routes will be". Mr Catlin noted "people will want to see each other face to face again", adding "we think that's ultimately good for our industry, good for air travel, no matter where you are in the world".