Are Cheap International Flights Going to Be Just Dreams?

Covid 19 is a lifestyle changing problem. No longer will the passengers feel all that free to travel without has hesitation on airlines. This impact will also be felt by airlines flying on international sectors. The demand is expected to remain low as the business sentiment is not likely to be strong. If we divide international travel into categories of leisure and business, it is quite clear that the leisure travel will see a considerable decline in years to come. The business travel will also see a subdued demand as face-to-face interactions will be avoided and business sentiment will take some time to recover across the world.

Faced with lack of demand on both these counts in short to medium term, airlines will not be able to earn much from passengers. Therefore, their strategy of offering cheap international flights might not be all that fruitful. The only purpose it can serve will be to bring back confidence among business travelers who might want to fly on reduced fares but this will be self-defeating if the numbers do not add up to much.  

Another factor which can be looked into while examining international travel in future is most traveled regions from USA. Quite interestingly, Canada, Europe and Central and South America are the major regions. Among these Europe is the most affected due to this outbreak. Therefore, travel to this region is likely see a greater decline in short to medium term than in other regions.

International flight tickets to these regions are not likely to be cheaper beyond a limited period of time. This time period will be a testing period wherein airline will see whether the international traffic picks up or not. If this does not pick up, then the prices are expected to rise in medium term.

One significant intervention which can save the day for not just travel but other sectors of economy as well is the invention of a vaccine. With research institutes putting all resources at command to arrive at a vaccine, it is expected to arrive in market sooner than later.