Consumers are desperate to travel, says TAP CEO

The increase in the price of air tickets, a result of record inflation in Europe aggravated by the Ukrainian War, did not affect the demand for flights, which remains heated, says TAP CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener.

“Of course it affects us [a guerra e a inflação], but it is not changing the demand. Consumers want to travel, they are desperate to have freedom and be able to fly wherever they want”, says the executive, who has just completed one year at the helm of the company.

In an interview with Sheetshe says that the company’s costs have already increased by more than 300 million euros just because of the increase in fuel.

In addition to costs, the company faces another problem: the crisis at Lisbon airport – with more than a hundred flights canceled and thousands of passengers affected in the last week. For Christine Ourmières-Widener, the issue should only be resolved in mid-August.

Although there are other companies with problems, most of the cancellations in the Portuguese capital are precisely in the national airline, which attributes part of the difficulties to the lack of personnel on the ground and the logistical constraints that also occur in other countries.

Christine Ourmières-Widener, 57, is an aeronautical engineer and began her career in the technical part of operations, working on the team responsible for Concorde at Air France.

The French executive was one of the first women in the leadership of aviation companies. Before heading TAP, she was CEO of two other European airlines, Flybe and CityJet.

She is also one of two women among the 31-member board of governors of IATA (International Air Transport Association), an entity that brings together the main companies in the sector around the world.

Responsible for most flights between Portugal and Brazil –there are flights to 11 Brazilian capitals–, TAP recognizes the importance of the Brazilian market and says it is evaluating expanding operations next year.

For now, the company has reinforced the frequency of flights departing from Porto airport, in the north of the country: a destination increasingly sought after by tourists and the growing community of Brazilian immigrants.

Unlike other European airlines, TAP does not face a strike from its employees. Still, many of the company’s flights have been cancelled. Why does it happen? There is a very difficult crisis at airports. Our ecosystem has many different players, with different rules. We are an airline, but we depend on many suppliers, who need to do their part right.

For example, one of the logistical problems is the air traffic control systems, which are suffering for different reasons.

We still have many flights that arrive in Lisbon already delayed from other destinations. We recently saw the situation at Heathrow [Londres], in Amsterdam and also in Frankfurt. There were not necessarily strikes at these airports.

It’s a combination of problems, including a lack of ground personnel. Some people have resigned, and we have a hard time rehiring for certain posts. It’s a matter of shaking up the service chain on a big level.

What is the realistic prospect for ending this crisis? I think that, by mid-August, we will have a more stabilized situation. Recruitment is already happening. We are putting in place a series of measures and an action plan

Why are airlines having such a hard time recruiting? Our situation at TAP may be different from other markets. We have no problem hiring pilots [um dos grandes gargalos nos EUA] or cabin staff. For us, the most difficult thing has been to hire the teams that work on the ground. This is something that is still challenging for many of our partners around the world.

How are war, inflation and rising fuel costs affecting the company? Just because of the fuel, our costs increased by 300 million euros.

We are trying to mitigate this. All airlines decided to increase the fuel surcharge, not just TAP.

Of course this all affects us, but it is not changing demand. Consumers want to travel, they are desperate for freedom and to be able to fly wherever they want.

The increase in tariffs did not affect the dynamics of demand. Yes, there is an impact on our cost, but for now, even with the price increase, we can say that we are within our plans.

Brazil is an important market for TAP. What are the company’s plans for the country? Brazil is the first market for TAP after Portugal. It accounts for almost a third of our revenues.

We are currently adding flight frequencies. We are not used to launching new frequencies or destinations during the winter, which is low season. But we’re working on the idea of ​​doing that next year.

We are still studying, because we have limitations, but we would love to invest more in Brazil.

Mrs. she is one of two women among the 31 men who make up the IATA (International Air Transport Association) board of governors. Why is this still such a difficult environment for women? I don’t know why it’s been taking so long for the industry to change, but it is happening.

There is a combination of factors. It’s a very technical, very complex environment. We also have a history of pilot communities, which have traditionally been very male dominated.

I think it’s happening, slowly, but it is. And there’s no reason why it shouldn’t. There are a lot of female talent in the industry.

This year, for example, there were some nominations by women as CEO of airlines, such as at KLM [Marjan Rintel] and on Pegasus [Guliz Ozturk, a primeira mulher a liderar uma empresa de aviação na Turquia].

There is growing concern about the large amount of greenhouse gases emitted by air travel. Is it possible for an airline to be sustainable from an environmental perspective? We all have to think about the environment, it’s part of our responsibility. One of the first ways airlines commit to sustainability is to fly modern aircraft, which burn less fuel and are less polluting. And that’s what we do.

I consider that TAP has one of the most modern fleets in Europe. The fuel reduction can reach 30% with the change of aircraft. So it’s very important. We have to do our part.