Air traffic may rise to pre-Covid levels by March: Vistara

New Delhi: Vistara said on Wednesday that its capacity utilisation is likely to go back to pre-Covid-19 levels in another five-six months from 60% now, an indicator that the aviation sector is moving towards normalcy. “We expect the domestic capacity to go back to pre-Covid levels by March or April next year and the outlook is on the basis of current growth in passengers, which is encouraging. However, things may change, if the number of cases starts rising,” said Vinod Kannan, chief strategy and commercial officer at Vistara. He did not share any outlook on the revival of international flights, though, as Covid-19 cases are increasing in several European countries.

The government had earlier estimated that the capacity would go back to pre-Covid level by Diwali but later revised it to the end of the year, which seems unlikely now. The government is also regulating the number of flights airlines can operate, which is fixed at 60% of pre-Covid capacity. Kannan was speaking on a passenger survey conducted by the airline, which interviewed more than 4,500 of customers, which show an “increased passenger confidence since the first customer survey rolled out by Vistara in June 2020”. The airline said the survey showed business travel continued to lead traffic along with the segment of travellers returning to their homes or to their places of work. “This is followed by an expected rise in people visiting friends and relatives starting October 2020, and a spike in leisure travel in 2021,” said Vistara.

The survey projected a brighter picture for future of domestic travel, indicating that demand may be sustained by people continuing with travel plans. “About 41% of respondents said they plan to take their next flight by November 2020, and 63% expect to take their next flight by February 2021. Flying for business and returning to a place of work/home continues to be the main purpose of travel in the last few weeks for 45% of the respondents,” said Kannan.