Monthly Archives

April 2020

IATA: Slow recovery Needs Confidence Boosting Measures

By Points of view

Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for governments to work with the industry on confidence-boosting measures in the face of an anticipated slow recovery in demand for air travel.

“Passenger confidence will suffer a double whammy even after the pandemic is contained—hit by personal economic concerns in the face of a looming recession on top of lingering concerns about the safety of travel. Governments and industry must be quick and coordinated with confidence-boosting measures,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

An IATA-commissioned survey of recent travelers found that:

  •  60% anticipate a return to travel within one to two months of containment of the COVID-19 pandemic but 40% indicate that they could wait six months or more
  • 69% indicated that they could delay a return to travel until their personal financial situation stabilizes

Early indications of this cautious return-to-travel behavior are seen in the domestic markets of China and Australia, where new coronavirus infection rates have fallen to very low levels:

  • China: Domestic demand began to recover when the rate of new COVID-19 infections in China fell into single digits and rapidly headed towards zero (measured by new infections as a percentage of the seven-day moving average of total COVID-19 cases). While there was an early upswing from mid-February into the first week of March, the number of domestic flights plateaued at just over 40% of pre-COVID-19 levels. Actual demand is expected to be significantly weaker as load factors on these flights are reported to be low. China accounts for some 24% of all domestic passengers.
  • Australia: Domestic demand continued to deteriorate even after the rate of new infections fell into single digits which triggered an initial recovery in the Chinese domestic market. In fact, there is still no sign of a recovery (total domestic flights are at 10% of pre-COVID-19 levels) even as new infections nears zero. Australia accounts for 3% of all domestic travelers.

Domestic market behavior is a critical indicator as the post-pandemic recovery is expected to be led by domestic travel, followed by regional and then intercontinental as governments progressively remove restrictions.

“In some economies, the spread of COVID-19 has slowed to the point where governments are planning to lift the most severe elements of social distancing restrictions. But an immediate rebound from the catastrophic fall in passenger demand appears unlikely. People still want to travel. But they are telling us that they want clarity on the economic situation and will likely wait for at least a few months after any ‘all clear’ before returning to the skies. As countries lift restrictions, confidence boosting measures will be critical to re-start travel and stimulate economies,” said de Juniac.

This week IATA is conducting regional summits with governments and industry partners to begin planning for an eventual re-start of the air transport industry. “The passenger business came to a halt with unilateral government actions to stop the spread of the virus. The industry re-start, however, must be built with trust and collaboration. And it must be guided by the best science we have available. Time is of the essence. We must start building a framework for a global approach that will give people the confidence that they need to travel once again. And, of course, this will need to be shored-up by economic stimulus measures to combat the impact of a recession,” said de Juniac.

Relief Measures

In addition to confidence-building and stimulus measures, the anticipated slow recovery also adds urgency to the need for emergency financial relief measures. IATA estimates that some 25 million jobs in aviation and its related value-chains, including the tourism sector, are at risk in the current crisis. Passenger revenues are expected to be $314 billion below 2019 (-55%) and airlines will burn through about $61 billion in liquidity in the second quarter alone as demand plummets by 80% or more.

Some governments have stepped up. Examples of relief measures over the last week include:

  • Colombia added significant tax relief for airline tickets, jet fuel and tourism to their already comprehensive package of relief measures
  • Hong Kong provided another HK$2 billion in relief, including purchasing 500,000 tickets in advance from Hong Kong based carriers to inject liquidity into the airlines.
  • Senegal announced US$128 million in relief for the Tourism and Air Transport sector
  • Seychelles has waived all landing and parking fees for April to December 2020.
  • The 41 Eurocontrol states and their air navigation service providers (ANSPs) delayed EUR1.1 billion in air navigation service charges for February-May until November and through to 2021. Last week a further 13 states and ANSPs also delayed terminal charges, totaling over EUR190 million, for a similar period.

“This is an emergency. Airlines around the world are struggling to survive. Virgin Australia which entered voluntary administration demonstrates that this risk is not theoretical. Governments will need financially viable airlines to lead the economic recovery. Many of them won’t be around to do that if they have run out of cash. The number of governments recognizing that relief measures are needed is growing. But the crisis is also deepening. We thank the governments that have committed to provide the industry a lifeline and look forward to quick implementation. For the others, each day matters. Millions of jobs are at stake and relief cannot come fast enough,” said de Juniac.

Read remarks of Alexandre de Juniac
View the COVID-19 Assessing prospects for domestic markets report

For more information, please contact: 
Corporate Communications
Tel: +41 22 770 2967
Email: corpcomms@iata.org

Notes for editors:

  • Domestic markets are an important indicator of the aviation industry’s overall performance as they account for 58% of total passengers. As the distances are typically shorter than international routes, domestic traffic (measures in revenue passenger kilometers) accounts for a third of the global total.
  • IATA commissioned research of people who traveled in the last nine months in Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Japan, India, Singapore, UAE, UK, and USA. The research was conducted 6-9 April 2020.
  • IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 290 airlines comprising 82% of global air traffic.
  • You can follow us at twitter.com/iata for announcements, policy positions, and other useful industry information

Frank Allard hands over the BARIN chairmanship to Marnix Fruitema

By Points of view

As per his decision announced last year, Frank Allard handed over the BARIN chairmanship to his successor Marnix Fruitema this month. As part of a proposal to change the Executive Board composition, this transfer was approved by the attending members at the (first virtual) annual BARIN General Assembly on April 14.

As of the 15th of April the BARIN Executive Board consists of the following persons:

Marnix Fruitema – Chairman

Harm Kreulen (KL) – Vice Chairman

Joost Hasperhoven – Secretary General

Jean Paul Drabbe (EY) – Treasurer

Petra de Ruiter (HV) – Member

Cengiz Inceosman (TK) – Member

At the same time, Coen Waasdorp, who has held the position of Treasurer since 2011, has also stepped down and Jean Paul Drabbe, a member of the board since 2014, has taken on this position.

In 1995, the BARIN Board asked Frank Allard to take on the role of BARIN Secretary-General with the assignment to transform the mainly social character of the association to a professional advocacy organization for civil aviation in the Netherlands.

His professional and dedicated contribution to strengthen the organisation with this objective, and to make it an effective recognised major institution, has positioned BARIN well within government agencies and the aviation industry in the Netherlands and beyond.

In 2011 he was asked to assume the chairmanship, with which Allard served the interest of civil aviation in the Netherlands in the broadest sense of the word for 25 years.

Frank T.J.M. Allard

“The Corona crisis we are in now is unimaginable and unprecedented, but I am confident that we will continue to endure it. I wish the Executive Board every success in its new composition and congratulate Marnix Fruitema on his appointment,” says Allard.

Marnix Fruitema brings a wealth of aviation experience and has held several KLM-management positions in Amstelveen and Paris, as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas. Finally, Fruitema was Executive Vice President at Jet Airways in Mumbai, India.

Marnix H. Fruitema

“It is an honour to lead the BARIN. In the past 35 years I have gained many and various experiences in aviation. I hope to be able to use this experience for a considerable number of years for the members of BARIN in particular and the aviation sector in general. I look forward to constructive cooperation with all partners in the aviation debate we are having with each other,” says Fruitema.”

Dutch translation:

Zoals hij vorig jaar zijn beslissing reeds had aangekondigd heeft Frank Allard het BARIN-voorzitterschap overgedragen aan zijn opvolger Marnix Fruitema. Deze overdracht werd, als onderdeel van een voorstel tot wijziging van de bestuur (Executive Board) samenstelling, in de (virtuele) BARIN-jaarvergadering (BARIN General Assembly) op 14 april jl. door de leden geaccordeerd.

Per 15 april bestaat de BARIN Executive Board uit de navolgende personen:

Marnix Fruitema – Chairman
Harm Kreulen (KL) – Vice Chairman,
Joost Hasperhoven – Secretary General
Jean Paul Drabbe (EY) – Treasurer
Petra de Ruiter (HV) – Bestuurslid
Cengiz Inceosman (TK) – Bestuurslid

Tegelijkertijd is ook Coen Waasdorp, die sinds 2011 de functie van Penningmeester heeft bekleed, teruggetreden en heeft Jean Paul Drabbe, sinds 2014 lid van het bestuur, deze functie op zich genomen.

In 1995 verzocht het toenmalige BARIN bestuur Frank Allard de rol van BARIN Secretary-General op zich te nemen met de opdracht het voornamelijk besloten sociale karakter van de vereniging uit te bouwen naar een professionele belangen behartiging organisatie voor de luchtvaart in Nederland.
Zijn professionele en toegewijde bijdrage om de organisatie met die doelstelling te versterken en er een effectief werkend orgaan van te maken, heeft BARIN gevormd en haar gerespecteerde positie met overheidsinstanties en de luchtvaartindustrie in Nederland en daar buiten.

In 2011 werd hem gevraagd het voorzitterschap op zich te nemen, waarmee Allard 25 jaar lang de belangen van de burgerluchtvaart in Nederland in de breedste zin van het woord heeft gediend.

Frank T.J.M. Allard

“De Corona-crisis waarin we ons nu bevinden is onwerkelijk en ongekend, maar ik ben ervan overtuigd dat we ook deze zullen doorstaan. Ik wens de Executive Board in haar nieuwe samenstelling heel veel succes toe en feliciteer Marnix Fruitema van harte met zijn benoeming”, aldus Allard.

Marnix Fruitema brengt een schat aan luchtvaart ervaring mee en heeft diverse KLM-managementposities bekleed in Amstelveen en Parijs, maar ook in Europa, Afrika, Azië, Noord- en Zuid-Amerika. Als laatste was Fruitema Executive Vice President bij Jet Airways in Mumbai, India.

Marnix H. Fruitema

“Het is een eer de BARIN te mogen gaan leiden. In de afgelopen 35 jaar heb ik veel en diverse ervaringen in de luchtvaart opgedaan.  Ik hoop deze ervaring nog een flink aantal jaren voor de leden van de BARIN in het bijzonder en de luchtvaartsector in het algemeen te kunnen inzetten. Ik zie uit naar een constructieve samenwerking met alle partners in het luchtvaartdebat dat wij met elkaar voeren”, aldus Fruitema.”

 

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