As travel looks set to return in the near future, the new normal could mean flights are more expensive.
Travel restrictions are being eased and air fares, which initially dropped as demand plunged, are now on the rise.
Fares between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region have increased the most, rising 34 per cent compared with the same week last year, research by Airbus’s airline-data subsidiary, Skytra, showed.
Fares between Europe and Asia-Pacific have seen the highest price increase with a rise of 34 per cent
Price rises are driven by several factors. These include a major reduction in flight capacity around the world (aka, less supply), including that seats have to be kept empty. There is also the reality that most of current travel is on repatriation flights (many people have no option but to book one of few flights available and are willing to pay more for this essential service).
Using information from the International Air Transport Association, Skytra said the findings indicated “a potential new norm for significantly hiked flight prices”.
“Bookings are beginning to pick up again as passengers start to undertake essential travel,” says Mark Howarth, Skytra chief executive.
“We are observing a new pricing equilibrium driven by an adjustment in flight capacity and demand reviving from extraordinarily low levels.”
People plan to fly again by the end of 2020
The Skytra study also found that flight bookings are beginning to increase. It said the majority of flights being booked are for towards the end of the year. This coincides with a world that looks as though it is starting to open up again.
The European Union has unveiled an action plan to reopen its internal borders and Italy, one of the countries worst hit by the virus, announced it will welcome tourists back in June.
Several airlines have released new schedules for the summer, with many domestic and international routes expected to resume.
Another study by the travel website Dollar Flight Club reported that flight prices could dip after the pandemic. It looked at past travel disruptors and found that airfare prices dropped after incidents such as the 2008 global recession or the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US in 2001.
The study also found, however, that these dips were followed by a sharp increase in flight prices when demand rebounded.
Dollar Flight Club also forecast airline mergers and a reduction of commercial flights in the future.
“Airlines will significantly cut back on available capacity by reducing the number of flights and routes to increase load factor. This will help increase revenue but will lead to ticket prices increasing,” the study found.
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
MATCH INFO
Red Star Belgrade v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight (Thursday), UAE
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
The five pillars of Islam
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
