“Sticker Shock” May Be On the Way for Canadian Fliers, Expert Says
August 26, 2021 ctn_admin
One of Canada’s foremost aviation and travel experts says the Delta variant could result in much higher prices for Canadian travellers.
In an interview with The Financial Post, Robert Kokonis, president and managing partner at Toronto-based AirTrav Inc., said the variant could cause airlines to trim their capacity, which could then impact on air fares for the holiday season.
“Already looking at some bookings for domestic travel or international trips, the prices are relatively high, and that’s simply a function of supply and demand,” Kokonis said. “If the airlines are forced to take some of the capacity back off the store shelf, then I expect we’re going to see some kind of increase in pricing.
“For example, to London, England, before COVID, Air Canada had three or four daily flights, British Airways had two, WestJet one, Transat one or two, from Toronto… if the number of flights (drop to) one third of that, it does impact price, so that’s my concern; that some Canadians that need to travel, for example, around the holiday period, they may be in for some sticker shock.”
If you find a good deal now, you might want to lock it in. Airlines are still offering fairly flexible cancellation or re-booking options, so that’s also a factor.
Air France and KLM had earlier announced that customers can change their booking or receive a refund at no cost and without proof up to the day of departure. That was in place for travel up to Dec. 31, 2021, but officials this week said they’ve extended those measures until March 31, 2022.
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