About the future of the commercial air transport industry after the corona coronavirus outbreak affecting the world, Jetpartner Corp., which provides US-based aircraft lease rental service. Company's CEO Pilot Osman Arıkan made evaluations.
The coronavirus, which spread rapidly worldwide since January, brought the transportation sector to a standstill. Scheduled and unscheduled national and international flights have completely stopped, except partially with aircraft cargo and special permission flights. Thousands of aircraft have become unable to find parking spaces at the airports. Jetpartner Corp. said that normalization will begin in the next 3 months and that airline companies will start their flights by taking many additional measures in the next 6 to 12 months. Pilot Osman Arıkan, CEO of the company, stated that as the air of concern and panic is still prevalent in the society, touristic travels will drop significantly worldwide and airline companies will be negatively affected.
“Ticket prices may increase between 30 percent and 40 percent”
Osman Arıkan stated that there may be an increase in ticket prices between 30 and 40 percent. ”Air transport is a dynamic sector; Even a 10 percent reduction in the number of passengers transported daily can put companies in long-term economic hardship. In addition, due to the high probability that the virus will not completely disappear in the next 6 to 12 months, they need to take a number of additional measures, primarily to reduce the number of passengers carried on airplanes by up to 30 percent. In addition, companies will increase the ticket prices to compensate their flight costs at the same rate, as it is foreseen that people will stay away from international travel unless it is mandatory in this process in general. ”
“Many airlines can go bankrupt or merge”
Emphasizing that many airline companies could go bankrupt or merge, Arıkan said, “The majority of the airline companies provide the aircraft in their fleet with lease rental or financing support. Even if the airplanes do not fly, airline companies are required to pay compulsory payments, such as lease or financing, as well as insurance. For companies, this cost accounts for about 40 percent of the overall budget. Many companies will be able to survive for a maximum of 3 months in this process; Companies who cannot find the necessary financial support may be bankrupt. On the other hand; Many companies can overcome this process with corporate mergers or joint flights. ”
Private jets are on the rise
Assessing the interest in private jets, Arıkan said, “With scheduled flights around the world, many business people in the first place demand for private jet charter, although there are quarantine measures in overseas arrivals in countries. For this reason, private jet demands increased by 20 percent compared to the previous year. Against the risk of pandemic, the fact that it is a private terminal for passengers traveling with a private jet and the aircraft cabins are 6-10 people, making the travel with a private jet advantageous / sheltered. Considering that the effect of coronavirus may continue in the upcoming period; Despite the decrease in the number of passengers on scheduled flights, the difference between first class and business class ticket prices and the average wage range per seat of a private jet up to 60 percent in the possible price increases of airline companies, and the decrease in international non-stop flights and interest in private jets increased. is inevitable. ”
Hibya News Agency
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