TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — EVA Air ticket prices will remain high through the first quarter of 2024 as ridership on most international routes begins to recover after the pandemic.

As travel abroad has increased by Taiwanese following the pandemic, EVA Air President Clay Sun (孫嘉明) was cited by NowNews as saying that with the exception of flights to China, bookings for other routes will soon reach 70% to 90% of pre-pandemic levels and ticket prices will remain high through the first quarter of 2024. Sun said the number of passengers on flights abroad has reached 60% to 70% of pre-pandemic levels in the first half of this year, but starting in the third quarter there will be spike in bookings for the summer travel season.

Sun predicted that in the third quarter, the overall booking rate for North America routes will exceed 90% of the levels seen before the pandemic. Europe will see a booking rate of around 90%, Japan will surge further from the 80% seen in the second quarter, and Hong Kong-Macau routes will reach 70%.

However, Sun said that flights to China will only achieve 60% of pre-COVID levels in the third quarter.

Looking forward to the fourth quarter, Sun said the demand for North American routes will increase due to holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, and "the situation will remain favorable until the end of the year." Operational performance in the second quarter of this year was higher than that of the first quarter, and it is expected that performance in the third quarter will be higher than the second quarter.

By the fourth quarter, the firm's operations are anticipated to reach a new high, Sun said.

As for how long the high ticket prices will last, Sun said, "I hope it won't end."