ASM Global Route Development’s senior vice president for consulting and product development, Nigel Mayes, considers the impact COVID-19 has had on route development.
The impact of COVID-19 on aviation is clear to see from the pictures of parked aircraft and empty airport terminals to the vacant beaches and closed hotels. But what has been the impact on airline and airport networks?
What is recovery going to look like? And have we got any insights on the long-term impact of Covid-19? I shall attempt to address these issues in this article by offering some insight into the possible scenarios for the industry as we move forward.
Impact on airline-airport networks
Global seat capacity fell during the first lockdown to its lowest point in May to 20% of the 2019 levels and – despite a number of false dawns – talk about the shape of recovery has diminished, with the trend becoming one of a slow gradual build-up of capacity, characterised by fluctuations caused by new outbreaks and…