Mar 2023 - Briefing

?? Starting with the good news, Alaska Airline’s Flight Pass (powered by Caravelo) has just celebrated its first birthday, and the airline stated that the popular subscription service exceeded first-year projections, which prompted last fall’s expansion.

?? Following the wave, ICYM, we have recently signed two partnerships, with Wizz Air, the 7th largest airline in Europe, and with FlyArystan, a Kazakhstan based LCC. This is another confirmation of our rapid growth and of the increasing interest in subscription products worldwide.

?? Travel subscriptions are also thriving in the hospitality industry where the Dutch hotel group CitizenM is looking at its subscription-based discount club as a means to grow business, and to build an emotionally connected community, helping the hotel group to get to know its members better.

?? In fact, it has always been difficult for travel companies to understand customers. That’s why Amadeus is proposing a new segment definition of the varying nature of travelers with its latest Traveler Tribes 2033 study.

?? Continuing with the good news, traveling in the US will finally be more convenient for families, as, after July’s DOT notice, United will no longer charge parents to sit with their kids (no personal comments on this). Meanwhile, Hong Kong is giving away 500,000 free plane tickets (lottery page here) to promote travel in the region.

??? Saudi Arabia is expected to accelerate toward a full recovery, thanks to mega-developments and the introduction of a 30-day tourist visa. Growth is also on the horizon for Air India that just made the largest plane order in commercial aviation history, confirming its plan to gain market share in its home country. IndiGo is also continuing with its expansion plans waiting for nearly 500 jets to be delivered in the coming years.

??? On the dark side, McKinsey warned that aviation is facing its most uncertain future in decades, so airlines better be planning for uncertainties and challenges. Media reports are also suggesting that we might see a shift in strategy that could have implications for airlines, GDSs, metasearch engines and travelers after heavy Google Flights layoffs.

???? To avoid the major operational problems of summer 2022 (or to adjust to real market demand?), Lufthansa is set to cancel more than 30,000 flights from its original summer 2023 schedule. Other solutions to ease staff shortage have been shut down by European Aviation Regulators and the airline is looking for ways to prevent situations like the recent meltdown.?

???? Uncertainty also continues on the merger front, where the U.S. DOJ is expected to block JetBlue-Spirit merger and might force the airline to give up it’s alliance with American Airlines to win approval. In Europe, IAG has signed a deal to buy the remaining 80% of Air Europa, but there might be consequences for SkyTeam miles holders. Filled with doubt is also the TAP saga, with news saying that both IAG and Air France-KLM are interested in buying the Portuguese carrier.

???? Meanwhile, the situation in Colombia is escalating quickly with Latam Airlines steadily expanding, and the uncertainty around Viva continuing. While Avianca and Viva are still waiting for the Merger Proposal review, Viva’s CEO resigned, and the airline stopped operating.

?? Norway’s Flyr has also filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations, joining Flybe and Aeromar on a growing list of airline casualties that, according to CNN also includes (at least) 64 airlines that were killed by the pandemic.

?? Looking into the future, travel technology is advancing quickly and while we are waiting to see eVTOL flights take off at Expo 2025 Osaka, Dubai international airport has launched a new biometric system that allows passengers to travel with no passport. Let’s also not forget that technology development comes with duties, and airlines need to be aware of issues regarding privacy, consent, and transparency.