Analysis: Can the aviation industry survive the coronavirus crisis?

It was yet again another bad week for the airline industry, with more relentlessly depressing news.

The aero-engine maker Rolls Royce announced it is cutting 9,000 jobs, Brussels Airlines pilots suggested they might accept a 45 per cent pay cut just to stay employed and Air France said it will immediately phase out its entire Airbus A380 fleet. A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers claims 60 per cent of the world’s airline fleets are still grounded – that’s almost 18,000 commercial airliners currently inactive, sitting on the tarmac or in hangars all over the world.

This year might see global passenger numbers slump to levels not seen since the 1970s – who was flying on a regular basis back then? And this year will almost certainly see some airlines disappear altogether. Those that do survive will have to adapt to a new, uncertain normal. Most airlines will insist on temperature checks before you fly, face masks on board and no queues for the toilet. But debates continue about keeping the middle seat free and whether in-flight drinks and food should be provided.

This as public trust in the travel industry has plunged to an all-time low. According to new research from UK consumer group Which, airlines and holiday companies continue to either deny or delay – or at the very least frustrate – customers for coronavirus cancellations, in breach of EU law.

Big questions also remain as to whether Europe needs so many airlines. Yes, competition is good for consumers, who tend to be wealthy frequent fliers, but does it ultimately benefit the taxpayers who are bailing them out? Most airlines are not expecting passenger numbers to return to 2019 levels for many years to come – maybe not until 2025. And slow growth won’t be helped by fewer airlines having fewer planes. It is a troubling time for the industry as a whole and there will be more painful job losses to come. But, as in so much of this crisis, it will create winners as well as losers. (Darren McCaffrey is Euronews’ political editor.)

Source: Euro News