Swine flu is helping charter operators like Air Charter Services and Jet Direct Service win top-paying business travelers from the major airlines as the global spread of the pandemic accelerates.
Revenue at Air Charter, in Kingston upon Thames, England, with $200 million in annual sales, increased at an average rate of 32 percent a month from May to August, said the chief executive, Tony Buckram.
“Most are high –net-worth individually,” he said in an interview.” We’ve run 54 more flights in August than last year in executive jets alone, and some of that is an offshoot of not wanting to go to the general aviation terminals.”
Demand for private travel during the swine flu pandemic is helping the charter business, which is worth about $33 billion a year worldwide .If the shift continues, it may hurt British Airways, Air France – KLM Group and others that provide scheduled service, and Airlines rely on business and first – class travelers for profit.
“North of 50 percent of revenue on the bigger carriers’ long-haul flights is from premium customers,” said Penny Butcher, a Morgan Stanley aviation analyst in London.” Obviously it’s some thing they guard very, very carefully.”
Swine flu has infected more 254,000 people since April and killed more than 2,800, the world Health Organization says. The number of fatalities has more than doubled in a month, with infections rising 10-fold since June.
“Swine flu has certainly increased traffic,” said Rob Dore, a director at Jet direct Service, in Shoreham – by – sea, England.” Predominantly it’s the largest corporate clients. They are concerned about the well-being of their staff from a commercial , as well as a moral, standpoint.”
Charter passengers can usually fly from a private terminal at a small airfield and book a plane for themselves or their business groups. Charter companies typically charge about $2,000, or $ 3,330, an hour for a mid-size jet, said David Seville, chief executive officer of Air Partner in Gatwick, England.
The price for a flight from London to New York, which is 7.5 hours, would be about $15,000 for someone flying alone. A first – class, one –way ticket on British Airways from London to New York costs $4,102, according to the airlines Website.
The airline industry lost more than $6 billion in the first half as the recession sapped demand and swine flu concerns caused customers to travel less, according to International Air Transport Association estimates. Worldwide travel in business and first class declined 21 percent in the first half, the trade group said.” A lot of people are not traveling because of swine flu,” Adel Ali, chief executive of Air Arabia in the United Arab Emirates, said last month.” Swine flu is a bigger threat than the economy.”
Airlines so far said they have not seen much additional impact from moves to chartered jets.” its business as usual at British Airways,” a spokesperson, Philip Airport, said when asked about the impact of swine flu on the airlines premium travelers.
When Southeast Asia suffered the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, executives requested private jets to fly alone and avoid crowded aircraft, charter operator’s said. Air Partner, which estimates the worldwide charter business is worth about $20 billion, predicts that pattern will repeat itself.
“When SARS struck, people wanted to use a private jet,” said Mr.Savile of Air Partner.”They didn’t want to sit in an enclosed space with others.”
The decline in the use of chartered business jets in the United States has slowed since the beginning of the year – to a 10 percent drop in July from a 30 percent plunge in February, Federal Aviation Administration data show.
Europe has seen a similar recovery, with use of business jets falling 14 percent in July from a 24 percent drop in February, according to data from Euro-control, a Brussels air traffic monitor.
“The big risk would be if the virus turns more hostile,” said Frank Skodzik, an airline analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.” That would be a major threat to air travel.
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