Airfares soar as Chinese rush to escape virus in Europe

Bloomberg

Cambridge University student James Shen didn’t hesitate to pay double for a business-class ticket to fly to China last week, deciding it would be safer there than in the UK as the coronavirus spreads in Europe.
“I feel much more protected here,” Shen said after arriving home in Suzhou, about 60 miles (95 kilometres) west of Shanghai. “In the UK when I tell people how serious the outbreak is, people laugh at me and say I’m overreacting to a flu. But as Chinese people, we have vivid memories about Sars and what just happened in Wuhan.”
Shen, a 23-year-old master’s student, said he paid about 40,000 yuan ($5,700) for his return ticket. Prices have climbed further in recent days or availability has disappeared altogether. Travel agency Trip.com Group Ltd isn’t offering any seats on direct flights from London to Shanghai until April 13, while a one-way China Eastern Airlines Corp ticket on that day is available at 26,928 yuan on Skyscanner Ltd. Data from Qunar.com Inc shows the average price of a one-way economy ticket from Europe to China shot up 174% in the week through March 15, from 5,492 yuan to 15,021 yuan. Those from the US rose 137%.
The surging fares mark a reversal from few weeks ago, when long-haul flights to and from China would fetch a fraction of their typical prices, underscoring how the epicenter of the pandemic has shifted.
Countries are tightening restrictions on travel and gatherings in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 166,000 people worldwide and killed over 6,400. The slump in demand has forced carriers from American Airlines to Qantas Airways to make drastic capacity cuts.
“Prices are like commodities at times like this and travellers don’t have many choices,” said Shukor Yusof, founder of the aviation consulting firm Endau Analytics in Malaysia.
Korean Air Lines said it has “slightly” increased round-trip ticket prices after cutting about 80% of its services, and it has reduced its service to New York to one flight a day from two. Singapore Airlines flights to New York are now only offered on its 19-hour non-stop service, which doesn’t have economy class.
European countries in the Schengen free-travel zone are considering restricting access to foreigners and asking residents to refrain from leaving, effectively sealing their borders, according to officials.