Gulf Air achieves 80% load to 2019 levels: Bahrain
Addressing a press conference on the sidelines
of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) World Passenger Symposium
at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain, CEO Gulf Air Captain Waleed Al Alawi said it was encouraging
to see the recovery of the aviation sector gaining momentum after the difficult
years of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite headwinds like high inflation, high
fuel prices and the conflict in Ukraine.
The top official said he was in agreement with
IATA’s expectation of the overall industry getting back to 2019 levels by 2024.
The load factor is a metric used in the airline
industry that measures the percentage of available seating capacity that has
been filled with passengers.
“We are going to see a resumption in deliveries
of the Airbus A320neo jets and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners we had ordered earlier,
with at least one narrow-body jet joining the fleet this year and more to come
next year. This would enable the launch of several new destinations next year,”
he said.
The airline has added Milan, Rome, Manchester
and Nice to its summer schedule this year and also announced operations to
Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Malaga in Spain, Sharm Al Sheikh and
Alexandria in Egypt, and Salalah in Oman.
Also addressing the Press conference was Willie
Walsh, director general of IATA, said the industry needed to learn from its
failings during the pandemic where a lack of harmonisation in travel rules and
procedures led to a delay in recovery of air traffic.
“Travel during Covid-19 was complex, cumbersome
and time-consuming due to government-imposed travel requirements,” he
explained.
“Air travellers expect transparency wherever they
shop for fares, and other airline products, customised offers; bag tracking and
contactless processing at airports. They expect technologies like biometric
identification and smartphones to shorten wait times,” Mr Walsh said.
Source: www.zawya.com
good news, air tickets should come down now
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