HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Cambridge University student James Shen didn't hesitate to pay double for a business-class ticket to fly to China last Friday (March 13), deciding it would be safer there than being in Britain as the coronavirus spreads in Europe.
"I feel much more protected here," Mr Shen said after arriving home in Suzhou, about 95km west of Shanghai.
"In the UK, when I tell people how serious the outbreak is, people laugh at me and say I'm overreacting to a flu. But as Chinese people, we have vivid memories about Sars and what just happened in Wuhan."
Mr Shen, a 23-year-old master's student, said he paid about 40,000 yuan (S$8,065) for his return ticket. Prices have climbed further in recent days or availability has disappeared altogether.
Travel agency Trip.com Group is not offering any seats on direct flights from London to Shanghai until April 13, while a one-way China Eastern Airlines ticket on that day is available at 26,928 yuan on Skyscanner.
Data from Qunar.com shows that the average price of a one-way economy ticket from Europe to China shot up 174 per cent in the week through to Sunday, from 5,492 yuan to 15,021 yuan. Those from the US rose 137 per cent.
The surging fares mark a reversal from few weeks ago, when long-haul flights to and from China would fetch a fraction of their typical prices, underscoring how the epicentre of the pandemic has shifted.
Countries are tightening restrictions on travel and gatherings in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 166,000 people worldwide and killed over 6,400. The subsequent slump in demand has forced carriers from American Airlines to Qantas Airways to make drastic capacity cuts.
"Prices are like commodities at times like this and travellers don't have many choices," said Mr Shukor Yusof, founder of the aviation consulting firm Endau Analytics in Malaysia.
"But this is going to be a one-time thing for airlines."
Korean Air Lines said it has "slightly" increased round-trip ticket prices after cutting about 80 per cent of its services, and it has reduced its service to New York to one flight a day from two. Singapore Airlines flights to New York are now only offered on its 19-hour, non-stop service, which doesn't have economy class.
Cathay Pacific Airways said it is reinstating some flights from the US and London to cater to growing demand from students overseas and others wanting to return to Hong Kong ahead of Easter holidays. It will also use aircraft with more seats on several flights from the US, which has declared a national emergency because of the virus.
The carrier said on Monday it would add three more flights from London on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, bringing the total to nine extra flights from the British capital this week.
European countries in the Schengen free-travel zone are considering restricting access to foreigners and asking residents to refrain from leaving, effectively sealing their borders, according to three officials familiar with the matter.
France might intensify its national lockdown, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a television interview.
Asian countries such as Vietnam are banning entry of tourists from the UK and Schengen nations, while the likes of Hong Kong require arrivals from the region to undergo quarantine.
The virus has infected more than 80,000 people in China and killed 3,213, but the number of reported cases there is tapering off and Europe is turning into a front line in the battle against the disease.
Mr Shen wasn't willing to hang around, booking his flight on March 7.
"I now feel like I made a winning bet," he said. "My parents really wanted me back home, where it seems safer nowadays."
