Between rebounds in the epidemic, borders that open and close constantly, shifting health regulations, travelers, fearful of their return to medium-haul planes this summer, are changing their travel habits.
“In the current context, price is no longer the primary purchasing factor. Reliability and cancellation or refund conditions take precedence. Clearly, we are less afraid of traveling on Air France than on Ryanair! »,
Summarizes one of the leaders of the NG Travel group (Kappa, Boomerang, etc.).
Customers are now turning to traditional airlines rather than low-cost, the usual queens of medium-haul flights in summer.
A phenomenon that the major European national airlines confirm, even if, at the heart of the high season, it is still difficult to measure.
“What is certain is that our commercial measures are more interesting than those of most companies: both offering refunds and allowing postponement or cancellation until the day of departure.
In the current context, it is a very strong reinsurance criterion ”, we
slip on the side of the management of Air France.
More expensive, but more reliable
Iberia offers its passengers to change the date of flights free of charge, or to obtain a refund if entry bans are imposed at the place of destination, if they are subjected to sudden containment or if they are diagnosed positive for Covid.
ARND WIEGMANN / REUTERS
At the French company, we can thus see the arrival of many passengers who have not been reimbursed by low-cost companies for trips sometimes dating back to the summer of 2020.
“Ryanair in September 2020, then Volotéa in the second confinement, finished galleys.
For this summer it will be a more expensive but more reliable company!
»,
Summarizes a passenger used to flights between France and Andalusia.
Posts on social networks also point in this direction.
“Volotea calls for a boycott! Take an example from real companies like Air France, Thai Airways, Lufthansa, etc. ",
Tweet for example a user:
And Air France is not the only one to benefit from this revival of image.
“The pandemic has made the most solid, secure and efficient companies stronger! », We
rejoice at Iberia, the Spanish company member of the IAG group (British Airways). In the third great
European
legacy that
is the Lufthansa group (Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines), we are already welcoming a summer with full cabins.
"With shifting borders, the strength and sometimes very long traditions of our airlines are elements to which customers are very attentive",
confirms Thadée Nawrocki, commercial and sales manager of the Lufthansa group in France.
“We have deployed considerable human and technical resources which make it possible to inform and reassure our customers so that they can organize their trips with confidence.
We owe it to ourselves to guarantee a premium service on this point, ”he
adds.
5 star service
Air France was awarded a fifth star in the “Covid-19 Airline Safety Rating” ranking from Skytrax, an international air transport rating agency.
Christophe Leroux / Air France
Same story at Air France:
"we stand out with our quality of service, back to that of before covid, but also by supporting customers to prepare and check their health documents thanks to our traveldoc site".
The icing on the cake, on July 27, Air France won a fifth star in the “Covid-19 Airline Safety Rating” ranking from Skytrax, an international air transport rating agency.
It becomes the only European company to reach this level.
Skytrax thus welcomes the effectiveness of the health measures put in place as well as the improvements made to them during the first half of 2021. Reassuring for travelers.
VIDEO, the new Air France film of on-board safety instructions
Few flight cancellations
Another advantage of opting for a traditional company: the solidity of the networks and the few cancellations of flights. Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, IAG: all the
European
majors
have worked to maintain the widest possible network of destinations by using their
hub
strategies
. On this point, they stand out from low-cost airlines and their “point-to-point” strategies, which are more opportunistic but more conducive to untimely flight cancellations.
“Although we have reduced our flight frequencies, 100% of our French destinations are nevertheless connected to one or more of our hubs. This allows us to offer our passengers connecting flights to almost all of our European network. This is a major advantage at a time when the number of point-to-point routes operated by low-cost carriers has been considerably reduced, ”
explains Thadée Nawrocki at Lufthansa.
“Global airline alliances have a much larger mix of passenger types than low-cost airlines, which are essentially geared towards leisure. If the flow of leisure traffic is too low on a road, a low-cost company will simply not maintain its flights, ”
Thadée Nawrocki analyzes. He adds:
“On the other hand, traditional companies have greater strike force and operational flexibility. Passenger activity is often supplemented by cargo activities, which makes it possible to ensure an economic balance, to maintain flights and thus to guarantee program stability ”.
And in a changing health context, this is the first thing that passengers ask for: that their flights be maintained.
Read also: No more "Ladies and gentlemen" on Lufthansa flights
Easier reimbursement
Despite the Covid, Lufthansa continues to offer its passengers connecting flights to almost all of its European network.
Kai Pfaffenbach / REUTERS
Another priority for travelers and travel agents in times of Covid: generous trade measures, clear and flexible pricing conditions and easy refunds.
In the traditional companies of the IAG group (British Airways), the Spanish Iberia advocates tranquility and offers its passengers to change the date of flights without charge, or to obtain a refund if entry bans are imposed on the place. of destination, if they are suddenly confined or if they are diagnosed positive for Covid ...
Read also: Summer holidays: Air France launches a major offensive towards Spain and Portugal
On the side of some low-cost companies, reimbursements are sometimes much more complicated and have dragged on for many months.
"Some companies, such as Volotea, Vueling or Ryanair block us from refunds of assets for group trips, and we are unable to get an answer",
explains Isabelle Jaecques, commercial director of the Eden Tour agency in Lille. .
Conversely,
“since the summer of 2020, Air France and KLM have been exemplary in terms of reimbursements”.
Corsair or Emirates are also cited among the good students.
"The fact that the national companies have been financially supported by their States
(more than 10 billion euros for Air France, editor's note) is
reassuring",
continues the tour operator.
An improved image for traditional airlines, Air France in the lead, which, in a context still as complex for the tourism industry, should last. At least until the next strike ...