While seats on a wide range of European and domestic flights from Heathrow are still showing as available on its website, the economy fares are set at levels designed to deter any rational traveller from buying them. […] On a range of routes, including to Frankfurt, Geneva, Milan and Nice, the price-per-mile is even higher than the top fare on Concorde when it flew between London and New York.Simon Calder (The Independent)
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Tourism was hit first, hit hardest and will take the longest of all sectors to recover, especially those businesses and attractions which are heavily dependent on inbound visitors who will not come back to the UK in meaningful numbers until 2024.Bernard Donoghue (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions)
Increased focus on sustainability will see some major tourist destinations cap daily visitor numbers (notably in the Italian city of Venice) or impose a tourist tax. Thailand will impose a US$15 tax in 2022; New Zealand is likely to adopt a similar approach.Economist Intelligence Unit
1. Qatar Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Emirates
5. Japan Airlines
6. Cathay Pacific Airways
7. EVA Air
8. Qantas Airways
9. Hainan Airlines
10. Air FranceSkytrax
Britain is losing out on tourism income and trade with key economic partners like the EU and US because ministers continue to restrict travel for passengers fully vaccinated outside the UK.Heathrow Airport
The Irish budget airline said its traffic plunged 81 per cent in the year to March as a result of the pandemic, from 149 million passengers in the previous year, to just 27.5 million.Tim Wyatt (The Independent)
I’m very optimistic about what’s likely to happen during the course of the back three calendar months of this year.Tim Clark (Emirates)
We have every confidence that the aircraft is safe, which is the precondition for giving our approval. But we will continue to monitor 737 Max operations closely as the aircraft resumes service.Patrick Ky (EASA)
This winter’s a write-off. Our booking profile, which would normally be run over a 12- to 15-week period is now down to basically four or five weeks. November’s normally a bad time of the year anyway. The real issue for us as an industry is: can we rescue some level of recovery for Christmas, and after that, nothing I think will happen until we get to probably Easter.Michael O’Leary (The Independent)
Skytrax praised Rome’s Fiumicino Airport for its effective signage and information systems, as well as its in-house Bio-Safety Team of 40 staff who facilitate social distancing and ensure compliance with face covering usage in high movement areas. In the wake of coronavirus, Rome Airport has reorganised operations so that check-in and arrivals are assigned to Terminal 3, while Concourse Gates E is dedicated to departure and transfer flights. The airport is also testing several UV sanitisation methods aimed at further enhancing hygiene levels at high-contact points, such as escalators and lifts. Joanna Whitehead (The Independent)