The world before is back! Those who hoped that, for the sake of the planet, the air travel craze would not withstand the Covid-19 pandemic are at their cost. Since the announcement at the end of April by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, of deconfinement measures, the French have flocked to book their tickets. ” It’s enormous ! “, rubs his hands Nicolas Hénin, deputy general manager in charge of sales and marketing of Transavia, a low-cost subsidiary of Air France.
“The recovery has been very clear since the beginning of May and is constantly accelerating”, he rejoices. At Transavia, “The reservation rate is significantly higher than that of 2019, the last year before the crisis, from 40% to 50%”, he emphasizes. The rebound in activity is fully benefiting the low cost airline of Air France. On the occasion of Ascension Sunday, it operated 173 flights. A record since its creation in 2007. In the days following the presidential intervention, between 15,000 and 20,000 were sold every day.
For once, the company acknowledges having well anticipated the boom in demand. “We made the bet early enough to put a high level of capacity in July and August”, explains Mr. Hénin. In practice, Transavia has activated its entire fleet, increased from forty to forty-eight aircraft for the summer. Three countries, Greece, Portugal and Spain, which have reopened their doors to tourists, concentrate most of the reservations. For Spain and Greece, Transavia has increased its capacity, that is to say its supply of seats, by more than 50% and more than 40% respectively compared to 2019. It is not, moreover, not the only one to bet on the return of passengers. The Spanish low cost company Volotea announced on Tuesday 1er June, that it increased its summer supply by 30%.
Caution remains in order
Air France does not want to miss its summer and intends to be “Agile”, points out Olivier Piette, program director. That is to say, put its planes where the passengers want to go. The company made “Big bets”, warns Mr. Piette. Africa, “Which works very well”, but also the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the United States. “We take the planes out of the hangars”, assures the program director, who foresees 63% capacity in July and August on long-haul and up to 85% capacity on medium-haul.
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