I was so happy to hear that Air Canada and other major airlines will be resuming international flights in early August. However, my enthusiasm was curtailed a bit when I read that consumers are in for “sticker shock” when they start planning trips abroad.
First, according to CNN Business, the price you’ll pay for an air ticket will be much higher - up 24 per cent in the U.S. alone and consumer watch groups in Canada are noticing similar increases from Air Canada.
CNN is also reporting that hotel prices worldwide are increasing at an alarming rate - up 44 per cent over the same period last year. Most 5-star hotel rates now start north of $1,000 a night.
Oh, and even if you can find a flight, be prepared to see it cancelled, or delayed, at the last minute. According to FlightAware.com 1,504 flights worldwide were cancelled today (July 7, 2021) alone and another 4,045 were delayed. Of the few flights Air Canada operated today, two were cancelled and eight others were delayed, according to FlightAware.
There are several reasons behind the delays and cancellations. First, there’s a shortage of pilots and air crew globally and secondly, many airlines are finding it hard to get qualified mechanics.
It appears that Canadians are still in no rush to return to the skies, either. Canada is last on the list for future flight bookings globally and IATA officials told me this morning that air traffic worldwide is still 62.7 per cent below what it was in 2019.
There’s still a lot of turbulence out there when it comes to the airline industry and charging consumers more is not the way to recovery.