Book now if you plan to fly on vacation this summer! Despite galloping inflation and the rise in the price of kerosene, ticket prices have not increased. “The prices, for July and August, are still comparable to those of 2019, before the crisis, and even a little lower for June”confirms Nicolas Hénin, deputy general manager in charge of sales for Transavia France.
Hardly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the low-cost subsidiary of Air France – like the other low-cost ones, Ryanair, EasyJet, Vueling or even Volotea – does not want to break the “Very very good momentum in bookings observed in recent weeks”explains the leader, who specifies: “We did not pass on the increase in fuel uniformly to our prices. » A real rush of passengers. “Last week, we sold twice as many seats as in 2019, before the crisis”we explain at Transavia, rubbing our hands.
The company is not alone. They all smiled again. “We are seeing a nice increase in bookings for this summer. Until the end of March, the activity was already much higher than in 2019”explains Volotea, a Spanish low-cost carrier whose main activity is to connect secondary cities in Europe.
There should never be as many planes as this summer in the European sky. In question, “the desire to catch up on trips that have not been made for two years”note all the companies in the sector.
But it is mainly the low cost that should benefit from this influx of holidaymakers. These companies which had already succeeded in capturing 40% of air traffic in 2021 could well, in 2022, exceed 50%. It must be said that they have decided to use great means to achieve this. All betting on the end of the pandemic and the desire for vacations, they chose in anticipation to grow their fleet.
Intense promotion
As proof, Transavia France has increased its capacity by 50% compared to 2019. In practice, its fleet, stalled at thirty-eight aircraft before the pandemic, has been increased to sixty-one aircraft. Its competitors have opted for the same strategy. Volotea has therefore planned to offer “47% more seats this summer”. Just as EasyJet, whose CEO, Johan Lundgren, said when presenting the company’s half-year results in mid-April: “We are confident that our plans will allow us to return close to our 2019 flight levels this summer, and emerge as one of the winners of the post-Covid recovery. »
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