What Haligonians Can Expect For Air Travel This Summer
HALIFAX — With Halifax businesses finally throwing open their doors, the first signs of an economic recovery from Covid-19 are beginning to show in the city.
But as restaurants, gyms, salons and other businesses get back to work, the future of one industry Halifax leans on heavily remains an open question.
What can Haligonians expect from the airline industry this year? How easy will it be to fly this summer? How many flights will enter and leave the city? How much tourism can the city expect from air traffic?
John Tory, the manager of business development with Air Canada, tried to provide some answers to the Halifax business community Thursday when he spoke at a Halifax Chamber of Commerce webinar on the future of air travel.
While Tory was tight-lipped about many of Air Canada’s plans for scheduling and ticket prices, he did paint a picture of what air travel will be like in the near future.
Mandatory masks and temperature checks, but no blocked-off seats
So what will it look like when you do step into an airport?
“The most noticeable symbol of [Covid-19] has been the facemask. And that’s what you’re going to see,” Tory says.
He says passengers and crew on airplanes will all have to wear masks, and that most airports are asking requiring masks before you even board a plane
Tory says temperature checks will also be common, with all passengers getting their temperatures taken before they board a plane. Again, he says, the individual airports might also require temperate checks at other points before you board.
Once you’re on the plane, you will also likely notice the way you’re served food and amenities has changed significantly.
However, Tory indicated you won’t necessarily see aircraft seats blocked off in the customary way many are to force people to conform to social distancing.
Air Canada is not rearranging their seating, Tory says, but the company is “selling with social distancing in mind.”
Tory says airlines will also more tightly manage the boarding process to avoid the “corralling of people at the gates,” that’s so common during boarding.
“What is going to happen at the gate, at security, at curbside, is everything that is reasonable to keep your safety in mind,” Tory says. “We just need to have a degree of patience, of compassion, and understanding.”
No word on flight increases
Even though he laid out in detail what traveling by plane in the Covid-19 era will look like, Tory gave little information about how likely it is that anyone will actually be doing that.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” he said, in response to more than one question about the airline’s future.
Right now, Air Canada is running a handful of flights within Canada and to a few international destinations, but the airline has seen a “significant drop” in passengers.
Tiffany Chase, a spokesperson for the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, says Halifax saw a 93 percent reduction in passengers “and a corresponding reduction in flights” in April this year, compared to 2019.
That number went up slightly in May, and so far in June there is a “marginal increase” in weekly flights, but Chase said it is difficult to predict how fast passenger numbers will go up.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty as to how many people will travel on those flights with the current 14-day self-isolation requirement upon arrival in N.S.,” Chase wrote in an email.
Signs about the industry’s recovery are mixed, especially in the Maritimes. Yesterday, discount airline Swoop announced it was cancelling service in several cities, including Moncton, this summer.
RELATED: Swoop Postpones Flights to Moncton, Keeps Some Service To Halifax
Air Transat, meanwhile, announced today it will resume services starting July 23, however, none of its flights will stop on the East Coast.
As far as Air Canada is concerned, Tory gave no information about what the country’s biggest airline’s schedule will look like.
“I know it’s the question that everyone wants answered. I don’t have that answer for you,” he said, adding that the airline is “just going to do the best to work with the restrictions that are in place.”
Those restrictions vary from province to province but Patrick Sullivan, the president and CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, says he believes provincial borders will open up soon.
“We all want to see that Maritime Bubble, and I expect we’ll see a Canadian bubble to at least allow travel inside the country without quarantine,” Sullivan said at today’s webinar.
Although no firm dates have been given, PEI premier Dennis King said today he believes a Maritime bubble could happen by early July.
Ticket prices poised to go up?
Tory also wouldn’t say specifically what ticket prices might look like. However, reading between the lines it appears small price hikes may be on the horizon.
“We try to find that spot between what we need to cover our cost and reinvest in ourselves, and what customers are willing to pay. And of course, we exist in a highly, highly competitive industry,” he said.
He said even though flights are happening less frequently than they were prior to Covid-19 there are also far fewer passengers, so competition among airlines is still happening. He also pointed out that people are only willing to pay so much money to fly.
“I don’t think you’re going to see a massive spike in price … only because I don’t think there’s a lot of people out there willing to pay those massively increased prices. And what we’re looking to do is see people resume travel,” Tory said.
Jo-Anne MacLean, the director of air service and airport experience at the Halifax airport, says she’s “starting to see some recovery” in the airline industry.
That’s a blessing, she says, because airports like Halifax’s generate their revenue based on flights and passengers passing through.
“We really need to see that traffic start to come back, and we hope that with the right measures in place we will see that,” she said.
Sullivan pointed out that tourism was a booming industry prior to Covid-19.
“I don’t think any of that’s changed,” he said. “I believe that growth will continue.”