Article from BTNews 23 NOVEMBER 2020
No refunds – says Southan
A new report authored by Jenny Southan, Editor and Founder of travel trend forecasting agency Globetrender, has revealed eight trends for the future of aviation in 2021 and beyond. The forecast was produced in association with Inmarsat Aviation and was presented by Southan at its FlightPlan virtual conference on 2 November. (see BTN 16 November)
Southan writes: “As everyone knows, government reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic have placed severe restrictions on the public’s ability and willingness to travel – and the knock-on effect is a starvation diet for airlines, who are struggling to fill their planes. While there is undeniable bad news to contend with – from job cuts to bankruptcy – from the trend forecaster’s point of view, the crisis is also providing fertile conditions for innovation. Problem-solving requires creativity, and creativity means coming up with new ideas – be they more streamlined business models, new revenue streams or fresh collaborations and partnerships.”
Among the trends featured in the briefing, which is free to download from Globetrender was “No Refunds”, which anticipates greater numbers of airlines refusing to reimburse customers for cancelled flights. Southan writes: “Consumers will in effect be propping up the industry with money from their own pockets.” Ryanair is cited – when England announced a second lockdown for November 2020 it said it would not be issuing refunds for flights it was still operating, even though the UK Government had banned all but essential travel.
Other trends include Grounded Catering, Pleasure Flights and Isolation Class.
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