Wingo: The holiday season returns to pre-pandemic occupancy levels.
The dynamic recovery of the airline industry continues at a steady pace. The outlook for this holiday season is optimistic as, according to forecasts by the Superintendence of Transportation and the Colombian Ministry of Transportation, 3.6 million travelers will travel by air, of which 2.4 million will do so on domestic flights and 1.2 million will do so on international flights. These figures are very similar to the 2019 pre-covid scenario.
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Faced with this good outlook for reactivation, the airline Wingo conducted an analysis of flight trends during the Christmas vacations. “We want each Colombian to decide how he or she wants to fly this Christmas vacations, because at Wingo we have multiple alternatives for each passenger to customize his or her flight experience, always with flexibility, good service and self-management,” said Jorge Jiménez, Director of Sales, Marketing and Distribution of the company.
1. Beach destinations: the preferred locations
Colombian travelers prefer sand and sea on their vacations. Wingo identified that in international destinations, the most popular routes are Cancun, Panama, Santo Domingo, Punta Cana and Aruba; while in the case of domestic flights, Cartagena, Santa Marta and San Andres stand out.
Likewise, Colombians’ interest in traveling is reflected in occupancy levels. According to Wingo’s estimates, an occupancy level of 92% will be reached in December of this year and 93% in January. This represents a 7% growth compared to the previous year, since the low cost airline will close December with an occupancy level of 92% compared to 85% in 2020.
2. Flexibility continues to be valued by travelers
The constant news about the Omicron variant has cast a feeling of uncertainty among some travelers. However, the National Government clarified that no borders will be closed in Colombia and that travel and active tourism will be maintained, while the vaccination reinforcement plan is being implemented. Likewise, airlines are obliged to enforce the new sanitary measure for entering Colombia by air as from December 14.
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In response to the new reality, Wingo includes in all its fares the possibility of making a date change up to 14 days before the flight without penalty, to give passengers greater confidence and peace of mind at the time of purchase, being the only airline in the country that offers this alternative to all passengers. Also, with Wingo it is possible to obtain Flex+, for an additional cost, which allows unlimited changes to the date, route or flight up to 24 hours before the trip, without paying penalties for changes.
3. Greater anticipation in the purchase of flights
Wingo identified in its analysis that travelers were waiting until the last minute to purchase their flights and avoid putting their vacations at risk due to fluctuating restrictions. Now, Wingo is showing a return to normal levels of anticipation, especially in Caribbean destinations that have remained unrestricted, such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico City and Cancun. The anticipation in the purchase of tickets for international destinations is approximately 1 to 2 months before the flight, while for domestic flights it is between 8 days and 30 days before the flight.
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