Uncertainty Surrounds When and How Strongly Business Travel Will Rebound

The drastic cut in business air travel and its expected slow recovery will challenge airlines for years. The pandemic forced a replacement of in-person meetings with digital technologies that may, at least partly, survive the crisis itself. But airlines as well as travelers have choices to dealwith change.

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Options And Impacts

Innovative pricing and offer management can cushion some of the revenue impact. MIT research scientist Peter Belobaba said some airlineswere using the pause in tra􀂁c to plan future pricing strategies like continuous pricing and exploitation of IATAʼs New Distribution Capability(NDC).

To better forecast demand during the crisis, PROS is adding virus case rates, vaccine rates, booking inquiries and other data to historicalbookings. PROS principal Surain Adyanthaya expects a temporary spike in business demand as vaccines spread and restrictions ease, then amore stable trend. Revenue managers may see higher demand well in advance of departure dates, the reverse of usual patterns.

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