ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE HAS IN STORE FOR THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY?
HOWARD WHEELDON | BGC PARTNERS
In the short term, I expect small yet hugely important signs of recovery. We should
be under no illusions that the industry will return to its former strength in the next few years; that said, it would be foolish to assume it is an industry in terminal decline. It will have to adapt and will look very different to how it did before, but will be all the better for it.
NEIL SHAH | EDISON INVESTMENT RESEARCH
The UK tax regime has made it so punitive for people to connect through the UK that many passengers are choosing to connect through Europe instead, as fares are cheaper. That, coupled with the economic downturn, has caused the industry’s woes. Recovery will be economy-driven – as the economy improves in the next few years, so will prospects for aviation.
GERT ZONNEVELD | PANMURE GORDON
People have evidently been trying to cut back on air travel in the recession, but fundamentally there is no substitution for it – consumers are still going to need to travel for business, to see family, to go on holiday and so on. Over time demand will recover, and the
speed of that will recovery will depend on the speed of the wider economic upturn.