Access to various countries around the world has become available, as airlines expect to make significant profits after business and leisure travel returns to pre-pandemic levels.
But the question posed, according to the American information network “Bloomberg”, is:
Why are ticket prices still so high?
“Bloomberg” says there is a shortage in the number of planes, as airlines have worked to deactivate a large part of their fleets because demand for air travel was very low at the start of the pandemic, and therefore it there was no need for it, and these planes cannot be brought back to work at the same speed, it takes about 100 man hours to get the largest plane back into service after being grounded. Another reason for the increase is that consumers are willing to pay higher prices for tickets after being denied the opportunity to travel, sometimes up to 3 years of deprivation. And a survey by the reservations site Booking of 25,000 adults planning to travel in the next 12 to 24 months showed they want to travel more than to make up for lost opportunities. Marcos Guerrero, senior manager of an online travel agency, says that even with some trips being priced higher than before, many people still see the value in travel.
Bad news for travelers
The bad news for consumers is that ticket prices are likely to remain high for at least several years, according to Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair.
Airlines have suffered huge losses estimated at around 200 billion dollars due to the “Covid-19” pandemic, and this sector has lost tens of millions of jobs.
And when airlines rebounded as travel demand returned, they faced major employment hurdles as many former employees sought other, more stable jobs.
Not only has the labor shortage caused disruptions in air traffic, but it has also increased the cost of attracting and retaining human resources, which means higher wages and therefore higher prices for tickets.
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