THE FUTURE OF AVIATION

With the post-pandemic emergence of new airlines the aviation industry is on a steady incline, so we've roped in cofounder and CEO of LIFT Arlines, Jonathan Ayache, to give us a bird'seye view and unpack this shift.

- THOBEKA PHANYEKO

Glamour: How would you describe the current aviation landscape? 

Jonathan Ayache: The recovery of the airline industry is underway but we're not there yet and global consensus is that we won't see a full recovery until the end of 2023. The domestic market has still only recovered to +75% of pre-pandemic passenger volumes as compared with 2019. We are expecting the industry to recover further this year and we're keeping a close eye on growth opportunities but are very responsible in how we approach that, as building a sustainable airline industry is crucial.

G: How are you responding to the dramatic shift in the aviation industry post-pandemic?

JA: Passenger volumes in South Africa have been flat over the last 12 months at +75% of pre-pandemic levels. On top of that, the South African market is seasonal with supply and demand dynamics shifting throughout the year. We have built our business on a demand-driven model with flexible capacity which we believe is a far more responsible way of operating an airline. This allows us to increase flights during peaks without having an overcapacity which damages the industry in the off-peaks.i.e. between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban which account for ±75% of domestic passenger volumes. This model is crucial to the sustainability of the airline industry.

G: What sort of travel trends do you see emerging?