Consumers are using airlines in ways that are different to how they were in the past.
According to Reuters, there has been a wholesale cut in how often consumers fly, and when they do, they prioritize long haul trips, which tend to be less polluting, and are a nod towards longer trips. That means less flight volume, a need for airlines to retain expensive, more logistically challenging long-haul services, and a shift in how consumers use flights. This poses challenges to the entire structure of US aviation to meet this new type of demand, and there are challenges along the way.
Airport management
Airports are managed on a constantly shifting but carefully managed network of conflicting demands, priorities, schedules and timetables. Alterations in how consumers use airlines can lead to problems in how airports are managed – look at the ‘ghost plane’ scandal in European airports during coronavirus as an example of that. It’s not simple to try and simply change scheduling, and sudden changes in demand can lead to confusion. Miami is an example of an airspace that has experienced near misses in air safety due to changing priorities, and state legal experts including Doug Beam have highlighted the importance of avoiding such dangerous inconsistencies. As such, it will take real thought from the lawmakers, administrators, and logistics professionals to ensure that the airports are brought up to speed and can manage the new style of demand they are experiencing.
Improving offerings
At the core of matching demand is a need for more varied and flexible longhaul flight offerings. New routes from the USA have been springing up to a range of locations in Europe, most notably. Aviation24.be highlights new routes to Berlin, and there are ultra-long-haul trips on the cards that would enable fairly total coverage from the USA to every corner of the globe. This will be essential in ensuring that the new market remains interested in flying and the eco-conscious and progressive consumer generation of today are provided with the products they need.
Improving the basics
Along with the need for more sustainable and varied flights is the need for a general improvement in flight quality. In a recent guide on surviving long haul flights, USA Today noted the prevalence, still, of poor legroom, poor quality food, and a dearth of true inflight entertainment chives. Together, all of this makes the prospect of a longhaul flight with many of the major carriers a difficult one. Improving the overall offering is going to be essential in finding consumers in a more competitive market, and ensuring that they want to continue flying.
Consumers have shown that they don’t need to fly and that they may even potentially eschew flying altogether. This should be an alarm bell for airlines. Their market is shrinking, they want sustainable, higher quality offerings, and they want to go further afield. Meeting that need – and ensuring safety is in place along the way – is the challenge.