Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury stated during an interview on Sunday that he expects business air travel to return to its pre-pandemic levels shortly. Despite mass vaccine rollouts worldwide, concerns around business-motivated air travel remain, particularly with in-person business meetings being replaced by video conferences.
According to Faury, customers and suppliers will realize the necessity for meeting one another in person again. This is particularly true when it comes to overseeing the construction of factories, the development of products, or even verifying the success of business premises such as restaurants and stores.
“That is what airlines are telling us, since they must decide now how their planes will be seated in future,” Faury revealed. “And we see that they are planning as many seats in business class as before the pandemic.”
When asked about the exact number of business flights that will be scheduled in the future, Faury did admit that he does not expect the sector to fully recover from the lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly with many businesspeople adopting the notion that in-person consultations are not always necessary in order to conduct business successfully.
He remained adamant, however, about his belief that people want to fly again and that it is this desire that will spur a rebound for air travel.
