Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has revealed some of the things we can expect when we take to the skies again, after the novel coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions are eventually lifted.

The Qantas boss shared his insights on post-pandemic flights and airline travel on his LinkedIn page yesterday, in a post entitled “three things to expect when we’re all flying again.”

While he admitted that there are many things we don’t know, especially when (and how) travel restriction measures will be reduced or eliminated once the COVID-19 threat has passed, he did note that there were three things he felt certain of.

1. The airline market will be competitive
Joyce said he felt that the Australian domestic market still had “huge potential” and for that reason, Australia “is never going to be a one airline town” or if it became one, it “wouldn’t be one for long.” He also noted: “Stiff competition has made Qantas better over the years and we don’t want that to stop now.” Adding that the regulatory pressures on entrenched monopolies tended to “make them unattractive.”

2. There will be “lots of” low fares
There have been inklings of this in the past week or so, in the form of reduced fares, discounts and viral news stories like: “Sicily has offered to pay half your travel costs.” But Mr Joyce surmises that we can expect it to continue, as travel brands attempt to stimulate consumer demand post COVID-19. So that airlines can “get their people and aircraft back to work” and start “repairing the damage done by the devastating and sudden drop in revenue.” This is great news for travellers, because it’s going to mean plenty of good deals to be had.

3. Domestic travel will start well before international
Travellers can expect domestic travel restrictions to lift first, Joyce noted, stating that they are “likely to lift well before international travel.” But he warned that  while Australia has done a remarkable job of flattening the curve, we need to “be careful not to take the brakes off too early.” Naturally, a post-pandemic situation like this which encourages domestic travel can only be good news for local tourism, with more people set to holiday in Australia once restrictions are lifted.

While the pandemic may have temporarily clipped our wings, it seems COVID-19 travel restrictions have done little to extinguish the great Aussie travel dream. Mr Joyce revealed that a recent survey of Qantas Frequent Flyers showed around 85 percent were keen to travel again once they’re able.

“If this period of isolation has taught us nothing else, it’s how much we value seeing people and places. And that’s why aviation will remain so important… I know our people can’t wait to welcome them back on board when the time is right,” he said.