There’s been a lot of doom and gloom in headlines lately surrounding travel to the United States. But in this heavyweight aviation panel, Simon Westaway, CEO of the Australian Airports Association (AAA), spoke to industry experts about the accuracy of these concerns.
Kelly Clive, country manager at Delta Air Lines, and Tim Wallis, regional manager, Australia, New Zealand & French Polynesia for United Airlines had a similar view on international passenger growth.
Tim said that despite the perceived negativity around travelling to the US right now, what they’re actually seeing is a “positive good news story”.
“It’s not quite resonating, what we’re seeing in the media in terms of demand for the USA,” he said. According to Tim, the next six months look really positive in terms of demand for flights for most international markets, and United’s loads still went up YOY.
He added that where United is seeing a softness was from Europe and Canada to the US, and amongst domestic flights in the US. But they need the US and the industry internationally, as well as local partners, to work together and support each other.
“Growth is still a huge part of our strategy,” Tim said.
Delta’s Kelly echoed this sentiment, saying “we’re still seeing really strong demand between Australia and the USA.”
Kelly said that although they were starting to see some domestic softness, internationally they are still seeing strength. They had strong Q1 results and forward booking for international shows that those results are set to continue.
Delta are also seeing strength in premium travel across international and a lot of loyalty-driven travel.
“We’re trying to focus on what we can control,” Kelly said. “We can’t control what’s happening there but we can control our operational reliability, our growth into areas where we’re seeing demand – and we’re seeing demand into this region hence we’re growing into the Australian market – and really where we can expand strategically.
“So far we’re encouraged by the resilience of the international market,” Kelly added.
Kelly explained how they’re also doing a lot in the airport space to improve customer experience. Delta recently spent over $12 billion into USA airports, showing the commitment from the airline to help improve customer experience. Seven airports in the USA now use digital ID, a facial recognition tech available for eligible customers that mean you no longer have to show documentation.
Krystle P. Ramirez Gastrock, country manager AU, NZ, PG at Philippine Airlines, said they’re concentrating more on their Australia market. They’re ensuring that the four major Australian airports remain profitable and sustainable.
Krystle discussed the growth in demand they’re seeing for the north of Asia from Australia. As well as increased demand for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand, the most notable growth in demand has been for the Philippines, which Krystle called “really long overdue”. The Philippine government is supporting that influx with a new digital nomad visa, allowing international travellers to stay in the country for 12 months.
But Krystle also pointed out that the cost and difficulty of getting a visa into Australia is one of the main factors they see passengers considering before booking travel to Australia. She explained that the Philippines are already digital in terms of passenger arrival.
“We don’t have the card any more,” she said. “It’s all automated.”
Overall, our aviation giants provided a message of hope and positivity for the future of air travel, with much being done to improve customer experience and options when flying.
