Low Covid-19 cases lifting corporate air travel in India: Report

A number of airlines and travel booking firms reported month-on-month growth in both leisure and business travel bookings in the 3rd quarter of FY21

Corporate air travel has seen a resurgence with bookings expected to reach an estimated 80% of the pre-Covid-19 levels, Business Standard reported.

One of the key sectors that took a blow from the pandemic was the travel industry, but a number of airlines and travel booking firms reported month-on-month growth in both leisure and business travel bookings as the holiday season and the end of 2020 neared.

The drop in coronavirus cases in the country has also helped the industry.

The report states that a large chunk of the bookings have come from essential services sectors such as pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, and power, while the likes information technology (IT) and consulting are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Travel firms, the report says, are hopeful of the situation getting better, as the Covid-19 vaccination drives in India and around the world pick up the pace.

Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip, told the publication that his firm was "very encouraged to see early signs of improvement within the business travel segment," and noted that the leisure travel segment has been driving the recovery in the air travel industry.

Thomas Cook (India)'s President and Group Head Indiver Rastogi stated that their company had seen an "overall 800% surge" in the first three quarters of FY21 against the first quarter of the same year.

Sabina Chopra, yatra.com's co-founder concurred, and told BS that the online travel booking firm had in January seen the highest number of bookings since the pandemic began.

Indigo's Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Sanjay Kumar estimated corporate travel at 30-40% of pre-Covid volume, while a Vistara spokesperson told BS that their corporate traffic stood slightly higher at 40-50% of pre-pandemic levels.