5 Takeaways From Skift Aviation Forum

The road ahead for the airline industry could be bumpy, with the trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic uncertain, the return of business travel unclear, a looming pilot shortage, and supply issues with the aircraft manufacturers. Still, executives at the second annual Skift Aviation Forum on November 17 expressed optimism that the industry has passed an inflection point and is poised to more fully recovery next year. Below are the five most important lessons we took from the conference.

The recovery is still not linear. Despite optimistic hopes that it was, executives from KLM, Lufthansa, and TAP Air Portugal all cited continued caution — especially with Covid-19 infections rising in Europe and the U.S. — as they look to 2022.

“The world is on its way to recovery,” said KLM CEO Pieter Elbers at the Skift Aviation Forum on Wednesday. But added that it is likely to be “stop and go” for some time to come. Both Elbers, and Swiss International Air Lines Commercial Chief Tamur Goudarzi Pour, cited the reopening of Singapore, Thailand, and the U.S. to vaccinated travelers as encouraging moves. 

But airlines remain cautious. Schedule flexibility, both to add and remove flights, continues to be important in case countries re-introduce travel restrictions as Covid-19 cases rise. In Europe, new infections have risen since mid-October to more than 220,000 on November 17, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control data show. Case counts have also been rising since late October in the U.S.

“I think for 2022, we need to be still very cautious,” said TAP CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener. While rising Covid case counts are one factor, government aid continues to limit what the airline can — or is willing — to do.

The pilot shortage in the U.S., while temporarily eased by Covid-19 staffi