French and European business travel buyers can rest easy: on the face of it, they should be relatively unaffected by fare increases in the airline sector over the coming months. This is one of the conclusions to be drawn from the report Air Monitor 2019 just published by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT). According to TMC and its team Global Business Consultingbusiness travel by air within the European market is expected to experience ". modest increases in business class fares "this year.
The supply/demand balance - i.e. the capacity offered by airlines - seems to be fairly favourable to companies, especially those flying to the United States and Asia: " Competition and excess capacity over the Atlantic will curb fare increases as joint ventures and long-haul low-cost carriers continue to grow and traditional carriers launch their own low-cost brands. Overcapacity also a problem on Asian routes "warn the authors of the Air Monitor 2019 report.
Since the France Nevertheless, Air France's rapprochement with its partners could lead to higher fares: " The extension of Air France-KLM's joint venture with Virgin Atlantic and Delta could result in fare increases on both business and economy routes to North America. "say the authors of the report.
Elsewhere in the skies, this 2019 edition of the Air Monitor study shows that North American business travellers are likely to see their bills rise, both for domestic flights and for routes to Europe. Conversely, the overcapacity on offer in the Middle East bodes well for a general fall in fares at regional level.
