Inflation ’squeezing overseas plans’ Ian Taylor


The outbound holiday and flights market may be “significantly smaller” than pre-pandemic despite continuing strong demand for this summer. That is according to a rolling


survey of UK travel intentions by consumer research firm BVA BDRC. It found 2.9% of respondents took a flight in April, the highest proportion since the removal of UK restrictions and second only to last September since the pandemic began. The same proportion booked


an overseas holiday in April, up on February (2.7%) and March (2.1%) though down on January (3.4%) –


otherwise, it was the highest booking rate since January 2020 (5.6%). However, domestic bookings


now appear to be outpacing those overseas. The study found a higher rate of UK holiday bookings in April (5.1%) and January (5.9%) than last summer when the domestic booking rate peaked at 4.1%, and much higher than January 2020 (3.7%). At the same time, researchers


noted a lag between the volume of flight searches, according to the Google Trends UK search index, and bookings. Flight bookings lagged searches throughout the pandemic, with the gap closing last summer through to November, widening in December, then closing in January


Aviation sources say half-term rush went ‘pretty well’


Ian Taylor


Delays at check-in and at airports across Europe contributed to flight delays and cancellations over the weekend, but aviation sources insist UK operations went “pretty well”. EasyJet cancelled 240 flights


from Gatwick over 10 days to June 6, blaming a combination of issues after cancelling 200 the day before due to an IT failure. An easyJet spokeswoman described the IT issue as a “one-off” and blamed the additional cancellations on “a range of issues pushing crew outside their permitted working hours”.


4 2 JUNE 2022 She insisted: “It’s not a decision we


take lightly, but it is a small proportion of our programme. We continue to operate 1,700 flights a day.” Gatwick reported seven


cancellations out of 790 flights on Monday morning, describing this as “a normal rate”. A spokesman acknowledged: “There were issues at check-in at the weekend. [But] security has generally been fine. We get one period a day where the wait time is about 30 minutes. “Things are going well considering


there are issues across Europe.” A leading aviation source agreed,


saying: “Delays at European airports are causing a lot of late inbound


The question is whether interest [in travel] is sufficient to cope with the cost- of-living challenges


before widening again by April to the widest to date. The researchers suggest the gap


“between looking and booking” returned “as inflation started to bite”. They also note: “Those booking


UK holidays rose significantly during April to more than double the corresponding period in 2021.” Jon Young, BVA BDRC research


director, said: “The incidence of UK consumers booking overseas trips is four to five times higher year on year. “However, comfort levels [about


travelling] remain low although outbound restrictions have lifted.” He suggested: “The cost-of-living


crisis is holding back overseas trip intention.” Head of hotels research James


Bland added: “The pressing question is whether interest [in travel] is sufficient to cope with the cost-of- living challenges. I’m not expecting as big a return to foreign holidays as we might otherwise have seen.” The BVA BDRC ClearSight


survey was conducted among 1,760 UK adults on May 3-9.


Cancellations and delays caused some disruption last weekend


flights. Things have gone pretty well on the UK airport side. Airlines had trouble over the weekend and there were significant ground-handling issues at check-in because of staff shortages and Covid document checks. “The ground-handling companies


are still the weakest point, and there is still an issue of passengers turning up too early.” Tui apologised for cancelling


10 flights from multiple airports on Saturday and another on Sunday and for lengthy flight delays over the weekend. Two Manchester-Antalya flights were delayed overnight. The company blamed “a


combination of factors”. A source


attributed some of Tui’s problems to a third-party ground handler. A Manchester airport spokesman


reported any issues “were at check-in” and said: “Security was fine.” British Airways said media reports


of cancellations by the carrier “aren’t new”, insisting: “They were planned and actioned a month and a half ago and customers notified.” However, the Unite union


warned delays would be “worse” in the summer, blaming “chronic staff shortages”. Unite and the GMB union announced strike ballots of BA check-in and ground staff at Heathrow on Monday in a dispute over pay, with any strikes likely in July.


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Shutterstock/SynthEx


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