The airlines are united against the "empty seat policy". To enforce sanitary distances between travelers, the authorities plan to have one out of two seats condemned, thereby ensuring more space between passengers. On Tuesday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) strongly opposed this possibility, arguing that the shortfall in flying planes filled to 60% would be too great.
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Rates "up to twice as high"
"For a plane that flies half empty, we can imagine that the prices are up to twice as high," said Xavier Tytelman, aeronautical consultant at CGI Consulting, at the microphone of Europe 1. An increase that will suffer in the first place the less fortunate families. "For a round trip at 400 or 500 euros, we would reach 900 or 1,000 euros," he said.
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Low-cost airlines "even more advantageous"
The rise in prices will further widen the gap between standard and low-cost airlines, where the rise will be less significant, the initial prices being lower. "They will be even more advantageous for travelers, especially if they look more at the expense than before," says Xavier Tytelman.
To try to reassure passengers, the American airline Frontier now offers to travelers who fear contracting the Covid 19 during a flight to ensure that the seat next to them will remain vacant: it will cost 39 dollars (36 euros).