As per the bi-monthly Air Trends Report by CWT Solutions Group, the air fares will fall in April 2019. The published fares showed a sharp increase in the first two months of the year. However, the report suggest that the global average ticket prices (ATP) for air bookings will drop just over 4 per cent from the February levels to around U.S. dollars 673. The global ATP climbed 6 per cent, in January of this year and continued to climb 3 percent in February, reaching U.S. dollars 702.
The sharp increase in ATP in the initial months of 2019, was the result of airlines around the world implementing new commercial policies and revenue management models.
The upward trend in the average ticket price through 2019 will continue to rise. One of the factors is that more airlines are looking to adopt IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard in order to generate greater ancillary revenues such as seat selection and baggage fees.
The survey also found that the usage of online booking tools (OBTs) continues to increase and, in the coming months, will pass the 50 percent mark. Currently, usage was stable at around 48 percent globally in January and February after increasing 6 percent from October to December 2018. Usage is expected to rise again in March and April, surpassing 50 percent for the first time.
