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Hong Kong and Singapore have established the world’s first ‘travel bubble’, allowing residents to travel without the mandatory two-week quarantine. Photo: Reuters

After summer blighted by coronavirus, aviation and travel industries face harsh winter, warns boss of AirAsia’s booking app

  • Signs of recovery in Asia offer a glimmer of hope to aviation and tourism sectors devastated by travel restrictions, says Karen Chan, CEO of the low-cost carrier’s mobile app
  • Globally, 43 commercial airlines had gone under this year as of October, according to travel data firm Cirium
The aviation and travel industries are facing a harsh winter with demand for holidays still blighted by the coronavirus pandemic, though the green shoots of recovery – particularly in Asia – are offering the sector some hope, according to the head of AirAsia.com.

“It’s going to be a deep, harsh winter, there’s going to be convergence. For aviation and travel to survive there is a need to collaborate, instead of compete,” said Karen Chan, CEO of the Malaysia-based low-cost carrier’ app for booking flights, during a Bloomberg forum on Wednesday.

Globally, 43 commercial airlines had gone under this year as of October, according to travel data firm Cirium, making it likely that the number will exceed the 46 that either ceased or suspended operations in 2019. In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific last month shut down its sister airline, Cathay Dragon, following a cull of 6,000 jobs globally, the flag carrier’s biggest mass lay-off in three decades.

But with several Asian countries cautiously restarting limited travel, Chan said the region is poised to lead the recovery. This is a positive development for the airline, given that besides Malaysia its markets include India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Hong Kong and Singapore have established the world’s first travel bubble, allowing residents of the cities to travel without the mandatory two-week quarantine, subject to health protocols. Thailand has also recently allowed a handful of tourists from China to be its first visitors in seven months.

Borders, Chan said, are forecast to be re-opened either in the second quarter or the second half of 2021.

She said AirAsia has partnered with online travel site Trip.com and is collaborating with hotel operator Marriott International to ensure that travellers regain the confidence to take holidays again. The partnership with Trip.com allows cooperation in sharing information for connecting flights, membership benefits and product marketing to enhance travellers’ experience and convenience.

Domestic travel has recovered in certain markets, particularly China, following the imposition of some of the world’s strictest lockdown measures at the start of the year when the first cases of Covid-19 were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, according to Marriott and Trip.com.

“Conditions have certainly improved from the beginning of the year when we saw historically low levels of demand,” said Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s chief executive officer. “In China, what we see is that business is back in volumes that are almost to 2019 levels. In Sanya, which we call China’s Florida, business is better there than in 2019 because people feel safe.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Asia poised to lead industry’s recovery
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