When will passengers be ready to fly again?

December 17, 2020

How has COVID impacted how far in advance are people thinking about traveling? Data from Volantio’s SmartAlerts platform, which allows customers to set an alert on the airline’s website for a ticket they are potentially interested in purchasing, tells an interesting story about how passengers’ travel planning timeline has been impacted by COVID.

Put simply, customers today are planning *much earlier* than before.

Looking at the distribution of alerts set over a 360 day timeframe, our airline partners have seen a 31% relative increase in alerts being set 6-12 months in advance of travel, with a 16% relative decrease in alerts being set less than 1 month in advance.

What’s the implication? Airlines are using this data to better anticipate forward demand, particularly important with constantly shifting travel regulations, public health concerns, and customer preferences.

We are able to offer much more granular information to our SmartAlerts partners that can enhance demand forecasting. Please reach out for more information.