Europe’s airlines dangle summer bargains to unlocked masses

Bloomberg

European airlines are offering some attractive discounts to people itching for an escape from months of coronavirus lockdown. But fares could rise quickly as demand picks up.
Following months of idled flights, carriers are touting promotional summer prices as they return to the skies, with Ryanair Holdings Plc advertising return trips from London Stansted to Seville, Spain, in mid-July for 20 pounds ($25), or Trieste in Italy for 50 pounds. The low-cost carrier’s average return fare last year was 74 euros ($83).
“It’s a great time to be a consumer,” said Mark Manduca, an analyst with Citigroup in London. “You’re going to get some great deals. Airlines are looking to fill their planes this summer.”
Prices are down about 14% for travel this month and next compared with last year, and about 10% for August, according to data provider Skytra. How long those offers last depends on how fast people shrug off concerns about the virus and their own finances, and how well airlines are able to match capacity to demand in order to retain a measure of control over fares even in a depressed market.

Summer Bargains
Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary has said a full-scale price war may be on the cards as European airlines chase market share in the aftermath of the pandemic.
While Ryanair touts its bargains, figures from UBS derived from an analysis of screen-scraped fares suggest the Irish company has the greatest scope to put the squeeze on rivals. Its prices are up around 20% overall for July and August versus last year. That compares with decreases across most other airlines.
Ryanair’s ability to take on full-service operators may be limited, though, by multi-billion-euro bailouts granted to companies including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM, which O’Leary says will help them subsidise weaker routes. The UK market, Europe’s biggest, has also been muddied by a 14-day self-quarantine rule for arrivals that could put people off flying whatever the price.
Fellow discounters EasyJet and Wizz Air, which brought back their first services in western Europe, appear less enthusiastic about unleashing a fare competition at a time when European consumers generally may have concerns that go beyond the cost of a ticket.