April 1- Albert Henschel, General Manager of UAE for Scandinavian Airline, said demand for business class and higher priced seats is increasing, helping to push airline yields up somewhat, although a return to pre-recession yields is more than a year away. Henschel was speaking to media before announcing the airline’s fourth winter season on the Dubai-Copenhagen route. He said conditions are gradually improving for the battered industry. “The demand for business class seats and ‘economy extra’ seats is going up slowly. With this prices go up a little bit. I sincerely hope this continues. I cannot see a significant rise in yields for some time because this recession has really been strong. It hit all kinds of industry.”
Henschel’s comments are consistent with the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) statement on Tuesday that airlines are recovering from the recession with big increases in passenger travel and freight in February. Last year SAS grounded 20 percent of its seating capacity in order to mitigate the effects of the financial crisis, and Henschel said it will be well over a year before the grounded aircraft return to service.
