Will The SEA Aviation Industry Bounce Back Soon?

Domestic air travel is recovering with the easing of international air restrictions while in the South East Asian region, Singapore, for example, earlier this month agreed that Germany and Brunei travellers are allowed in the tiny republic. Signs are that other countries in the region will follow suit because air travel is needed to drive economic growth.

Leithen Francis, managing director of public relations agency Francis & Low says that there is a possible but slow turnaround in the industry with the pandemic now entering into the endemic phase.

“We are starting to see ‘green shoots of recovery because the Malaysian government and others in the region have largely accepted that COVID-19 is endemic and are implementing ‘living with COVID’ policies that involve stepping up testing and contact tracing, but allowing businesses – including airlines – to function again and restore services,” he says.

New travel rules will require that travellers do a COVID test before they board their departure flight and their return flight as COVID has made people far more health and safety-conscious.

“I think this will make people gravitate more to flying full service airlines if they can afford to because there is a perception that full-service carriers take better care of their passengers, especially if there is an emergency. For low-cost carriers to compete, they will need to do more than promote their low fares. They will need to highlight how they take care of their passengers,” he says.