New York: Forget about the Moet flute
Efforts to minimize human interaction and the threat of infection are shining to the fullest in the seats of advertising aircraft. Gone are the banquets of several courses and the warm personalized service, which was once the hallmark of airlines such as Singapore Airlines Ltd. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. .
Limits are a headache for an industry that suffers with a maximum overall call collapse and adheres to years of luxury knowledge among carriers at a festival for the most successful passengers.
Suddenly, it’s harder to push airlines aside when you’re at the sharp end, which makes it harder to win over the highest-paid consumers and possibly push some of them to the back of the plane.
“There’s no one to help you with your purse, you don’t accompany it to your seat and there’s actually no champagne before the flight,” said Sandra Lim, who flew elegantly in Singapore from Los Angeles with Singapore Air last behind. month. ” It feels like it’s back to economic elegance. “
The team wore masks and protective goggles, and has avoided contact and shared contact problems whenever possible, Lim said. Passengers can simply order a drink, but no loose and no menus were present. on a singles tray, as in economics, rather than on separate plates.
“When you take off food and service, it’s just a means of transportation to get from point A to point B,” said Lim, a 38-year-old food and beverage consultant.
Some routes have resumed, but global traffic has begun to decline slightly. Demand for foreign passengers fell by 92% in July. Planes flying were sometimes partially full, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Nor is it clear to what extent the premium market, which IATA says generated 30% of foreign airlines’ revenues in 2019, can recover. Many business travelers on the floor have become accustomed to videoconferences than in-person visits, and a global recession is threatening corporate budgets.
IAG SA, owner of British Airways and Iberia, said in July that the call for recreational activities would recover before business and that this “structural change” in the market would lead to new cabin arrangements. At a conference call, IAG CFO Stephen Gunning said British Airways had prematurely withdrawn his Boeing Co. 747 in part because they had so many premium seats.
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. CEO Paul Scurrah said at a convention this month that the business will recover more slowly than the overall market, as some corporations maintain work policies from home. Qantas Airways Ltd. ‘s CEO Alan Joyce was confident that the call would be fully recovered, but not until 2023 or 2024.
Low-cost airlines such as Ryanair Holdings Plc and EasyJet Plc, which largely serve short-distance recreational travelers, are expected to recover faster than internationally-oriented airlines, UBS Group AG analysts, led through Jarrod Castle, said. A report on August 21.
The appeal of a larger, padded seat that stretches completely flat may be enough to restore the elegance of business passengers, said Volodymyr Bilotkach, professor of air transport control at the Singapore Institute of Technology. Premium economy.
“On the airlines where I experienced it, this product is more ‘affordable’ than ‘premium’ to begin with,” Bilotkach said. “I don’t know if the passengers would be willing to pay that difference in value now. “
However, airlines have to stick with or ditch the high-end seats – according to Bilotkach, a sleek business singles seat that sits flat will have to generate at least 4 times the benefits of a budget seat to justify the entire area that occupies. on the plane.
Some airlines will use the pandemic to permanently degrade their premium cabin offerings to save money, said Jeremy Clark, who runs Malaysia-based JC Consulting, which advises airlines on catering and service. ability for food and onboard facilities to recover to prepandemic grades when it recovers, he said.
That said, “there will be airlines that will recognize the price that smart food and service brings to your logo in exchange for the relatively low cost of supply,” Clark said. “We are human beings. We like to be pampered.
While Covid-19 has reduced the frequency of onboard service, when safe, airlines will return to a more complete culinary service with high-end cabins at the forefront, according to David Loft, advertising director of Emirates dnata Catering. Unit.
Until then, business and first-class passengers expect reduced service and smaller meals, said Michelin-star chef Vineet Bhatia, who has worked with British Airways and Qatar Airways for nearly two decades.
He said travelers didn’t have to worry about the threat of food infection or even a drink: “Taking a whiskey on a plane with 40% alcohol is safer than drinking a glass of tap water,” yet they need to see Covid. 19 precautions.
“The security aspect has to be very visual,” Bhatia said. “The passenger needs to see the team in the distance, greet them completely covered, give them their food in a packaged box and leave. Sounds like science fiction, but that’s the way it is. »
Even that wasn’t enough for Graziela Guludjian, who took a 12-and-a-half hour flight to Barcelona from Singapore with business elegance last month. The Singapore Air team handed him a bag of mask, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. .
“I wasn’t comfortable,” said Guludjian, who was returning to Spain with her husband and three children. “I didn’t need to fly, but I had no choice. I don’t need to do it soon. “
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