Global air travel demand is expected to recover to its pre-Covid-19 crisis levels in about two years though the share of corporate travel segment will diminish, Etihad Airways' chief commercial officer said.
Pent-up demand to visit family and friends will boost passenger numbers but global business travel is unlikely to bounce back to 2019 levels as companies embrace the use of video-conferencing technology, Robin Kamark, Etihad Airways' chief commercial officer said on Monday at the Global Aerospace Summit.
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in "structural change" in the industry and the Abu Dhabi-based airline will adapt, he said at the two-day online conference hosted by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company and defence group Edge.
"You will not see business travel come back to the levels it was before this crisis. The number of travellers will, for sure, but they will travel for other reasons. Those daily flights in and out for one to three hours – flights for a meeting and back again – will not happen," he said. "We as an airline need to take on board and adapt thereafter."
In July, the International Air Transport Association said it did not expect passenger traffic to return to pre-Covid-19 levels until 2024, a year later than previously projected. The pessimistic projection was based on a number of factors including weak business travel.
"Short term business class travel will fall as businesses cut budgets and also look to focus on employee health," independent aviation consultant John Strickland told The National. "I'd expect some business travel to disappear permanently as we see a structural shift to video conferencing in place of a percentage of the previous market volumes."
The slump in corporate travel demand is expected to persist well into 2021 but will not be permanent, George Ferguson, senior analyst of aerospace, defense and airlines at Bloomberg Intelligence, said.
"We see the business demand cycle following typical downturns in that companies will restrict travel coming out of a recession as earnings recover," he said. "Once earnings recover, corporate travel will rise to a high just as the next recession sets in."
While technology such as Zoom will "peel away" some business travel volume, it cannot replace the process of building relationships that requires more personal interaction, Mr Ferguson said.
To counter the current weak travel demand, airlines have grounded some of their larger aircraft with premium cabins and will need to cut fares to stimulate demand, Mr Strickland said.
The weak business travel outlook could also result in airlines rethinking the premium class offerings onboard their aircraft, according to analysts.
"Medium term I'd expect a refreshed approach to what the business class product proposition represents and also work in strengthening the premium economy product," Mr Strickland said.
Re-configuring the cabins in the aircraft would be too expensive in response to a temporary change and airlines will instead offer business class seating at lower prices and try to attract price-conscious leisure travelers, Mr Ferguson said.
In previous crises, such as the 9/11 attacks, the airlines responded by slashing fares. However, the Covid-19 pandemic presents a different set of challenges such as travel restrictions, cancelled or postponed corporate events globally and weakened travel confidence in the absence of a vaccine – in which reduced fares or re-configured cabins may not work to boost demand, analysts say.
So far, some airlines have resorted to strategies such as blocking the sale of middle seats rather than change their cabins.
"The general view is that the airline business is much less viable with lower density seating, so the approach has been to survive on lower demand and government aid, until a vaccine is available," Teal Group consultant Richard Aboulafia said.
With vaccines against the virus expected next year and with various Covid-19 rapid tests to come available before that, airlines have not made major changes to their cabins, he said.
"The other view is that the problem hasn’t been fear of travel – it’s quarantine restrictions and cancelled events. So here again, cabin changes don’t matter much," Mr Aboulafia said.
The%20specs
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Aayan%E2%80%99s%20records
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Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Results
%3Cp%3EStage%204%3A%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Juan%20Sebastian%20Molano%20(COL)%20Team%20UAE%20Emirates%20%E2%80%93%203hrs%2050min%2001sec%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Olav%20Kooij%20(NED)%20Jumbo-Visma%20%E2%80%93%20ST%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sam%20Welsford%20(AUS)%20Team%20DSM)%20%E2%80%93%20ST%0D%3Cbr%3EGeneral%20Classification%3A%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lucas%20Plapp%20(AUS)%20Ineos%20Grenaders%20%E2%80%93%207%E2%80%B3%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Pello%20Bilbao%20(ESP)%20Bahrain%20Victorious%20%E2%80%93%2011%E2%80%B3%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULT
Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
UFC%20in%20Abu%20Dhabi
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