AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes: High Airfares are Here to Stay

Tony Fernandes, AirAsia CEO, believes that high airfares are here to stay as airlines seize the opportunity presented by the post-pandemic travel boom to impose higher rates.

In a discussion with Bloomberg Television from the Aviation Festival Asia in Singapore, Fernandes noted that the fare environment is very good and that airlines have been too lenient in pricing their product for a long time. The industry should also have been charging more all along, and he believes travelers may be taken aback by the higher prices.

As the world begins to emerge from the pandemic, airlines are struggling to keep up with the rapid rebound in travel. Around the globe, high demand and limited supply have pushed up fares. To meet the increased need for air travel, carriers are working to get their planes back in the sky.

Also, Fernandes asserted that the prices people are seeing now are actually the prices they should have seen in 2019. He also pointed out that after not having the opportunity to travel for three years, people have come to value it more. “If you don’t have it for three years, you see how important it was,” he noted.

Tony Fernandes, AirAsia’s CEO, recently announced that they will get their full fleet of over 200 planes running again by May, a full year sooner than expected. “Fernandes said that no simple task could bring 204 planes back into service. “But we’ve worked hard and managed to accomplish this incredible feat a full year ahead of schedule.”

Furthermore, Fernandes believes that higher airfares will be the new normal, even after the pandemic. He believes that airlines will have to adjust to the new reality and find new ways to remain competitive.

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