taking flight.
Although airlines faced an array of challenges from flight delays to staffing shortages in 2022, consumers still saw air travel as the way to get where they were going. While the empty airports of late 2020 are just a memory and aviation is surging again from high demand, the industry will be dealing with rising revenues and costs in the year ahead, shaping the pace of recovery.
With comfort and wellness top of mind for many travelers, Condé Nast Traveler notes that more airlines are stepping up to improve their lounges with high-quality amenities from wellness treatments to culinary experiences, while airport lounges are being upgraded to occupy passengers facing challenges such as delays. Indeed, with a premium Champagne bar now open at the new British Airways and American Airlines lounge at JFK, and a Clarins spa offering facials and more in Air France's business-class lounge also at JFK, perhaps a delay isn’t such a bad thing.
Many travelers are taking sustainability into consideration when arranging air travel, and many in the industry are reacting in kind with initiatives to lower carbon emissions. Last year, Turkish Airlines was awarded the “Airline Sustainability Innovation of the Year” by CAPA for its efforts with the “Microalgae Based Sustainable Bio-Jet Fuel Project (MICRO-JET).” The airline has a strong commitment to sustainability and worked with scientists to establish the world’s first carbon-negative sustainable aviation fuel with an aim to be used after undergoing engine tests.
Taking action for the environment will prove significant for industry players in 2023 and beyond, predicts Andrew Collins, CEO & President of Sentient Jet, whose industry-leading sustainability program, launched in 2021, offsets 300% of flight emissions on every flight, at no cost to passengers. “The day is not far away when customers will demand to know how their flights affect the environment and the extent of their own carbon footprint,” he says, adding that Sentient Jet is working on an across-the-board calculation that will automatically clue Jet Card owners into the miles they have flown and how much they have offset emissions along the way. “Similar to how efforts at diversity, equity, and inclusion are being measured, or even leadership in energy and environmental design, it will be important for companies to promote their efforts in tackling global and societal issues.”
Private aviation saw boom times last year as travelers who, or whose companies, could afford them chose private flights to avoid the hassles and health concerns of crowded commercial airports. Tradewind Aviation, operator of on-demand private charter and scheduled shared charter flights throughout North America and the Caribbean, whose carbon offset program covers all flights at no cost to customers, is growing its footprint in the northeast with a new 50,000 square-foot hangar in Dutchess County, New York, and taking delivery of 20 new Pilatus PC12-NGX turboprops, purchased in February 2022, over the next five years to account for the growing demand.
At the cargo end of aviation equation, Supply Chain Dive reports that private carriers will be contending with lower demand as businesses that came to rely on airfreight to avoid congestion at ports during the pandemic return to ocean container services. Rather than fret, air cargo carriers should stay positive, says Jack Burt, Vice President of U.S. Cargo at Air Partner: “My advice is to be proactive and give clients what they need. If a shipper has certain goods and lanes that are changing, we can provide real live data to the market and consultation. We’re a valuable data source, that is, and there is a lot of opportunity there.”
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