NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK
Confidence among those planning an overseas holiday was higher, with 70% confident of meeting their financial commitments and 81% of those who travelled aboard in the past 12 months intending to go away again in the coming year. First Rate noted “a marked
increase in the numbers allocating more money to their holiday and a significant fall in the volume of people expecting to spend the same as a year ago”. It added: “Those planning trips abroad are realistic about the money they will need to spend. More are increasing their budgets.” It suggested the “cautious
approach” of consumers “is reflected in a hardening of opinions about the importance of holiday protection”, with 75% of holidaymakers identifying Atol protection as a priority – the highest level yet and up from 71% a year earlier. Almost 60% of those planning an overseas holiday intend to take more than one, and there was a two‑point rise year on year to 42% in the proportion saying they would reduce spending in other areas to afford a holiday abroad. On a negative note, among those intending to take a holiday, there was a six‑point fall to 51% in the proportion who agreed “overseas holidays represent good value for money”. The survey found seven out of 10 holidaymakers plan to visit Europe in the next year and almost one in 10 North America, despite the fall in sterling. Hodge said: “It’s very
difficult to predict what will happen to the market. But there are lots of positives here. People are still looking to take a holiday, and expecting to spend more on the holiday and more
while they are away.” ● YouGov surveyed 5,067 UK adults online in September for First Rate.
Capa/ACTE Summit 2016: Ian Taylor reports from the Centre for
Brexit: Airlines hope talks won’t hurt aviation sector
Airline bosses fear a British exit from the EU will hit their businesses although they report little impact on demand to date.
CityJet executive chairman Patrick
Byrne told the Capa/ACTE Summit: “The fall in sterling hit us because we report in euros, but we’ve not yet seen a fall in [passenger] volume. There has been no slowdown in demand. But we don’t know what is around the corner.” He suggested: “If sterling continues to slide, people could consider whether to take a second holiday.”
Jochen Schnadt, chief commercial
officer for BMI Regional, agreed. He said: “BMI is focused on corporate travel and we haven’t seen an impact.” But he added: “August was a tough month.” Lufthansa’s Regula Dettling‑Ott
told the summit: “The [Brexit] vote happened, but nothing else yet. Whether it is positive or negative for Lufthansa is open.” However, Dettling‑Ott, the
Communication: Airlines tipped to go mobile-only
Major airlines are poised to move “from mobile‑first to mobile‑only” in dealing with passengers, according to KLM president and chief executive Pieter Elbers. Elbers told the Capa‑ACTE Summit: “Traditional airlines are struggling to implement [digital technology] quickly. Customers are used to digital experiences – maybe soon they will not visit our websites anymore.” But he argued: “KLM has been
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travelweekly.co.uk 3 November 2016
BYRNE: ‘How much of a pawn in the Brexit talks will aviation be?’
airline’s vice‑president for EU affairs, warned airlines could be disappointed if they hope to see Britain strike a separate deal with the EU on aviation. She said: “I don’t see any willingness of the UK to accept to be the junior partner [of the EU]. We all thought Brexit
a front runner. When the ash cloud shut European air space in 2010 our call centre could no longer cope. That was when we started to communicate with customers through social media. We promised to respond in an hour on social media and now it is 41 minutes [on average].” For modern airlines, he said:
“It’s not just a case of managing a hub‑and‑spoke system, we need to master a digital network as well.” He reported KLM receives 100,000 social media messages a week, sells 33% of seats online and 70% of passengers use online check‑in.
Elbers said: “We need to
ELBERS: ‘Airlines are struggling to implement digital tech quickly’
go where our customers are to promote our message. The next step will be to move from mobile‑first to mobile‑only.”
“Anything short of the status quo would be an unmitigated disaster for aviation” Jochen Schnadt, BMI
would not happen. Now we all think aviation should not change. But the car makers also think that. “The chances are we will not get a separate deal. The key is to get involved in the entire discussions and not get too focused only on aviation.” Byrne said: “I’m worried. I
wonder how much of a pawn in the Brexit negotiations aviation will become. It depends how hard a bargain the EU tries to drive. The best outcome would be for aviation to be left alone, but maybe that is wishful thinking.” Schnadt insisted: “Anything short of the status quo would be an un‑ mitigated disaster for the industry.”
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