This 2021 there is a change in the reservation time. Before it was four months and now one, according to the Association of Representatives of Air Lines of Ecuador.
December is the month that generates high expectations in the productive sectors of the country and the airline industry is no exception. This sector, which recorded economic losses of $ 600 million in 2020, this year shows signs of recovery, indicates Marco Subía, president of the Association of Representatives of Air Lines of Ecuador.
“Every month it has been going up. The capacities of the airlines, although they are not the same in terms of flights and planes as in 2019, are within projections and much better than 2020. We are more or less reaching 70% of the capacity we had compared to 2019 ″, he explains, adding that the demand is for both internal and external flights.
The recovery is concentrated in flights to the north of the American continent: the United States and Mexico. As for the countries of South America and Europe, it is going at a slow pace, this because the capacity of the airlines is not at the top due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic in some nations.
For the following month, Subía expects a great flow of Ecuadorians who return to the country to share with their family for the Christmas festivities and those who seek new destinations abroad.
According to the Global Consumer Study of the 2021 Holiday Season, published by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), the 51% of the 13,000 respondents plan to travel nationally during that period, while 21% plan to travel internationally.
Likewise, the study indicates that the 40% plan to travel to see family and friends during Christmas and New Years.
The airlines Latam Ecuador and Avianca also envision this scenario. Latam foresees significant growth in passenger traffic in the second half of December.
“Generally, the days before Christmas and New Year’s Eve are the ones with the greatest demand and we believe that this year will not be the exception, since there will be many people wanting to reconnect with family and friends,” says the company.
Travel to the United States is recovering faster and American Airlines will have three daily flights
They hope to have a hike between 10% and 15% in tourist destinations like Galapagos compared to the movement they have registered in recent months.
“The stimulation of demand this year has been key and is what has allowed the industry to grow,” says the company, adding that the next promotions would further help this reactivation.
From Avianca have been recovering little by little by domestic markets, followed by trips to visit family or friends. Then they have registered more movement of tourism travel.
For example, in July and August, during the holidays in the Sierra, the airline was very close to the precovid numbers.
“Our plans until the end of 2021 is to exceed those figures thanks to the consolidation of our traditional routes, but also to the operation to new destinations such as the Quito-Cuenca and Guayaquil-New York routes, ”says David Alemán, Avianca’s general director for Central and South America.
In 2020, Avianca’s operations from, to and within Ecuador they did not exceed 25% compared to 2019.
Alemán considers that vaccination was a key factor for people to feel confident about traveling. Such is the case that destinations with The most sought after by Ecuadorians are Galapagos, Guayaquil and Quito; and abroad: Miami, New York, Colombia and the Caribbean.
With this outlook, the airline expects by 2022 business or work trips to gain more strength.
Airlines are preparing to meet an avalanche of travelers who would fly to the United States this Monday.
Meanwhile, a change has emerged in the reservation time curve, according to the Association of Representatives of Air Lines of Ecuador.
Before it was done four to five months in advance and now it is 30 days, says Subía.
Adduces this user behavior due to the uncertainty generated by the pandemic. For example, that in the country of destination restrictions arise due to regrowth and other reasons.
But he clarifies that it is not an indication of low demand, since the purchase of tickets is maintained. In fact, he claims that in there was a lot of internal movement on the November holiday.
“The holiday was fantastic in internal flights, and that helps the recovery to go in those projections: reach the levels of 2019,” he says. (I)
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