2020 Was A Year That Battered The Air Travel Industry
The air travel industry was battered in 2020. The year began with protests and lawsuits over aviation’s environmental impact. These protests developed into the practice of “Flight Shaming”. Flight Shaming was just beginning to have some impact on the number of people flying when the pandemic almost put a stop to air travel. The government provided massive financial aid to the airlines to keep the industry alive. However, even when airlines were flying some routes, only a limited number of passengers could or would fly. Airlines and government began issuing policies on social distancing on aircraft in an effort to reassure people that it was safe to fly. In the middle of all of this chaos something new was happening. Passengers began to take matters into their own hands.
Flight Shaming
Air travel was extremely popular at the beginning of 2020. Government and airlines were hard at work trying to figure out how to deal with crowded skies and overcrowded airports. Our biggest problem was that too many airplanes were producing too much pollution. People were protesting in airports around the country in an effort to make airline passengers feel ashamed of flying.
“Flight Shaming” was one of many new words that got added to our vocabulary in 2020.
While all this was making the news, a small but important change was taking place. A few people were electing not to fly as a means of reducing pollution.
The Greta Effect
At the beginning of 2020 the number of passengers buying tickets on certain routes began to fall ever so slightly. Some suggested that this was a result of passengers not buying airline tickets in protest against aviation pollution. Instead of listening to endless expert debate about how to solve the problem of air travel pollution they decided to take matters into their own hands. This small but persistent phenomenon came to be known as the Greta Effect, after Ms. Greta Thunberg.
This was something completely new. This slight drop in air traffic was not the result of some airline policy. It was not the result of some government rationing. This was due to passengers taking independent action to express their beliefs. The debate about whether or not this was really passenger protest or just some misplaced decimal point was just getting started when we first began hearing the word Pandemic.
The Pandemic put an end to debate about whether or not the Greta Effect was real. However, for those who hoped that this was just another flash in the pan; stay tuned.
Pandemic
The first case of COVID-19 was reported in the United States on January 21, 2020. By the end of January, President Trump signed the Travel Ban. None of us really understood the magnitude of what was about to happen. Pandemic was a word we had only seen in textbooks or heard in movies. Pandemic was a word that had been wanting to make its way out of the halls of academia and onto the front pages of the news for a long time. February of 2020 was that time. “Pandemic” became part of our daily vocabulary. Soon to be added were words like “lockdown”, “social distancing”, “quarantine”, “face mask” and “The New Normal”. “The New Normal” was also an expression that had found its time. It was one that would come to be despised as the months wore on.
Much of the discussion about the Pandemic was focused on the political and social implications of banning travel. We had lots of time for this kind of discussion in February. In the meantime, the airlines began to sink.
By March the pandemic had devastated the air travel industry. Having too many flights causing too much pollution was no longer the center of attention. The discussion turned to tens of thousands of people in the air travel industry that were in danger of losing their jobs. People were just not flying.
Some people stopped flying because of government regulation. However, even without regulation, some were just afraid to get on an airplane. Whatever the reason, the declining number of flights was putting an enormous financial strain on the industry.
The on again off again government bailout money helped some, but it was not enough. By fall the entire industry was in danger of being damaged beyond repair.
Social Distancing
Social distancing on aircraft was a means of making air travel safer, and reassuring nervous passengers. Airlines began posting social distancing policies. Some of these policies were clear and simple to implement. One airline posted the policy of “Middle Seats Open”. Not all airline policies were this clear. They varied from one airline to another. To make matters worse, they were not always uniformly enforced. Overall, they were not very convincing.
Some people were convinced enough to continue to fly. Some were not. Those that were not convinced looked for other choices.
Greta Effect 2.0
By summer there was a clear trend developing in passenger choices. Flights to smaller airports on smaller aircraft were increasing, while the large hub and spoke airlines were not. Rather than waiting for an airline or government policy that made them feel comfortable, passengers were again taking matters into their own hands.
The Greta Effect was the result of individual passengers choosing not to fly in order to reduce pollution. Greta Effect 2.0 is the result of individual passengers choosing to avoid crowds.
The purpose of Greta Effect 2.0 may be different, but the method is the same. Passengers are taking matters into their own hands.
The Market Reacts
In the space of a few months the market began to react. Carriers began to offer creative new services to attract those passengers that wanted more predictable social distancing. In November JSX offered a bold new “Crowd-free, Hassle-free, small really is beautiful service”.
“The first seating configuration of its kind launching in Texas on November 23, JSX’s newly retrofitted Embraer 145 jets will feature 30-single seats in a 1x1 configuration, exclusively servicing the Texas market. All seats offer Business Class legroom, and seats on the right side of the aircraft also have an additional perk with a leather-covered cocktail table and rest, allowing for even more side-to-side space. Flights between Houston Hobby (HOU) and Dallas Love Field (DAL) are on sale now starting at $99 each way”.
JSX 30 Single Seat Configuration
JSX Embraer 145 Passenger Cabin
When asked if this was in response to passenger demand for social distancing, Mr. Alex Wilcox, JSX CEO, politely responded “yes, but JSX does not have passengers, we have customers”. Passengers seem to love being customers.
Hope for 2021
2021 is the year passengers became customers.
This awful Pandemic has forced customers to revisit their choices about flying. More people are choosing to fly on smaller aircraft to smaller airports. The market is responding by making more choices available at more reasonable costs. When the Pandemic is over, these new choices are not going away. More choices will mean real competition. All of us in the air travel industry are going to have to step up our game in order to win this new generation of customers.
Customer driven competition is the engine of innovation, and the air travel industry’s hope for 2021. Ladies and gentlemen please fasten your seat belts.
