Hub structure will be key to recovery, KLM CEO says
Pieter Elbers believes the hub-and-spoke model will be crucial to the restoration of long-haul passenger traffic.
Network airlines with efficient hub structures will be central to the aviation industry’s recovery and lead the rebuild of long-haul traffic, according to KLM CEO Pieter Elbers.
Speaking during a keynote interview as part of the Routes Reconnected conference program, he dismissed the suggestion that a rethink of the hub-and-spoke model might be necessary, believing that connecting traffic will return strongly once COVID-19 vaccines are available and passenger confidence returns.
Elbers explained that pre-pandemic point-to-point services to secondary long-haul markets would likely prove uneconomical over the coming years.
“Looking at the long-haul side, a lot of the thinner routes between midsize European cities and midsize US cities were established over the past few years—which were good economic years with solid demand,” he said.
“Obviously with the step back we are taking now, those routes can no longer sustain direct flights. Traffic is therefore going to be channelled through hubs. Within Europe it may be a bit different… but I believe that hub and spoke will lead that recovery trajectory.”
har noen flere flyselskaper sagt noe om de vil innføre samme vaksinekrav?
