Europe’s largest domestic airline markets may never recover from the pandemic
A shift is underway in how Europeans get around. Air travel is still king with discounters, like Ryanair and Wizz Air, carrying record numbers of fliers around the continent. But in some of Europe’s largest domestic markets, trains are emerging as clear winners. Airline seats in France and Germany, two of the continent’s largest aviation markets — both within Europe and globally — are down double digits since 2019. There are 49% fewer airline seats in Germany today than there were in 2019, Cirium Diio schedule data for Q2 shows. And seats in France are down 20% over the same period. Domestic seats are also down in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. Several domestic markets, particularly those in southern Europe, do continue to grow. Seats in Greece are up 10%, Italy 9%, and Spain 7% in Q2 compared to four years ago, according to Diio. This growth comes despite robust rail networks in Italy and Spain; though the latter’s system focuses primarily on Madrid and Barcelona, and not connecting secondary cities. Greece, on the other hand, has limited ground transport options given its primarily archipelagic geography. The three countries are also among the air travel recovery leaders as fliers have flocked to warmer, outdoors-oriented markets. “We’re never going to go back — we’re not going to go back to the [pre-crisis] levels,” Air France-KLM CFO Steven Zaat said on the French domestic market in July 2021. And while at the time Zaat’s comments were true for Air France, it is increasingly clear that the entire French domestic airline market is unlikely to fully recover amid broad shifts in the way people travel. Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France, said in March that the shift on routes like Paris Orly to Marseille has been “so strong [and] so quick,” that the airline was forced to reactively slash schedules. French rail operator SNCF is seeing record ridership on its high-speed TGV and long-distance trains. Ticket sales on these trains were up 10% from 2019 levels to a record 28m last summer, a SNCF spokesperson said. And this summer, the rail operator expects further increases with forward sales “really positive.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-05-29/general/europe2019s-largest-domestic-airline-markets-may-never-recover-from-the-pandemic
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Europe’s largest domestic airline markets may never recover from the pandemic
A shift is underway in how Europeans get around. Air travel is still king with discounters, like Ryanair and Wizz Air, carrying record numbers of fliers around the continent. But in some of Europe’s largest domestic markets, trains are emerging as clear winners. Airline seats in France and Germany, two of the continent’s largest aviation markets — both within Europe and globally — are down double digits since 2019. There are 49% fewer airline seats in Germany today than there were in 2019, Cirium Diio schedule data for Q2 shows. And seats in France are down 20% over the same period. Domestic seats are also down in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. Several domestic markets, particularly those in southern Europe, do continue to grow. Seats in Greece are up 10%, Italy 9%, and Spain 7% in Q2 compared to four years ago, according to Diio. This growth comes despite robust rail networks in Italy and Spain; though the latter’s system focuses primarily on Madrid and Barcelona, and not connecting secondary cities. Greece, on the other hand, has limited ground transport options given its primarily archipelagic geography. The three countries are also among the air travel recovery leaders as fliers have flocked to warmer, outdoors-oriented markets. “We’re never going to go back — we’re not going to go back to the [pre-crisis] levels,” Air France-KLM CFO Steven Zaat said on the French domestic market in July 2021. And while at the time Zaat’s comments were true for Air France, it is increasingly clear that the entire French domestic airline market is unlikely to fully recover amid broad shifts in the way people travel. Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France, said in March that the shift on routes like Paris Orly to Marseille has been “so strong [and] so quick,” that the airline was forced to reactively slash schedules. French rail operator SNCF is seeing record ridership on its high-speed TGV and long-distance trains. Ticket sales on these trains were up 10% from 2019 levels to a record 28m last summer, a SNCF spokesperson said. And this summer, the rail operator expects further increases with forward sales “really positive.”<br/>
