Number of young air travellers rise up to 42% post lockdown: AirAsia

Number of young Indian flyers have risen by up to 42 per cent post-lockdown in the country.  According to a survey conducted by the low-cost airline AirAsia, air travellers between 20-29 age group had grown from 25 per cent before the lockdown to 42 per cent after the lockdown.

However, share of air passengers of 30-39 age group have declined to 41 per cent from 49 per cent post-lockdown. Additionally, flyers above 40 years have also travelled less when flight operations were restored in the country. Only 10 per cent of air travellers aged above 40 travelled post lockdown, a report in Business Standard said citing the survey.

Around 2,400 passengers participated in the AirAsia survey in which they revealed that they were willing to travel for leisure during the festive season. The survey said that 43 per cent of the respondents wanted to travel for holiday, 30 per cent wished to visit hometowns, and 14 per cent would like to take business trips.

Siddhartha Butalia, chief marketing officer of Air Asia India told the daily that he was expecting to see more people taking flight despite the pandemic, especially people who travel by 1 AC or 2AC trains.

"We find that the cost of travel by air, and premium class in railways is almost similar and taking the time factor, air travel is more attractive. If given at the right price point, there is a good chance of shifting them to take flights," Butalia said.

He also informed that this time, domestic airlines saw a spike in migrant workers who went home during the lockdown and added, "It remains to be seen if they can be converted to repeat travellers".

In India, both domestic and international flights were suspended on March 23 due to coronavirus pandemic. However, the domestic flight operations restarted on May 25. However, the international flights continue to remain suspended till November 30.

On Thursday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) informed that air passenger traffic in India improved in October due to the festive season. The civil aviation regulator said that Indian airlines carried 52.7 lakh passengers in October against 39.43 lakh passengers in September.

Passenger load factor (PLF) was recorded at 61-74 per cent during October. This was an improvement from 57-73 per cent in September. PLF is used to gauge the capacity utilisation of transport services, including air transport.

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