Long haul package holidays being slashed in price
With the global credit crunch still underway and soaring household bills and living costs impacting on consumers’ budgets it is little surprise that many people have decided that they either cannot afford to take a holiday at all or that they can only afford to take a break somewhere local within the UK rather than heading to some far flung destination that costs a small fortune when it comes to flights, accommodation, and all the extras.
However, it is precisely this trend, where many consumers have found that they cannot afford to travel abroad, that has resulted in a cut in prices, which could enable others to afford a trip abroad. According to report many airlines are having to fly half empty aircraft to far flung destinations, and as a result of this they are losing a lot of money.
In order to combat this problem many are advertising unsold package deals at record low prices, which means that some lucky consumers could enjoy saving hundreds of pounds on the cost of a package deal that would normally have been very expensive. The special deals are on long haul flights and packages, and industry officials have said that amongst the places where huge discounts may be available are South America, Africa, and South East Asia.
One official from the travel industry stated: ‘To get such discounts is a very unusual trend for long-haul flights. I haven’t seen these types of offers at this time of year before. This type of summer trip is usually sold out up to eight months in advance but now they are still available.’
He added: ‘The changes occurring in the economy made people wait, and in January people knew it would be a hard year financially.’
Officials have said that many airlines have had to hike up their surcharges as a result of soaring fuel prices, but that this will also impact upon their profits, as these higher surcharges coupled with the global credit crunch and stretched affordability due to higher living costs will all impact upon the number of consumers booking holidays abroad. In order to avoid flying the aircraft half way around the world with load of empty seats the operator has no other option than to try and sell the seats off as cheaply as possible in order to get the plane as full as possible before it heads off.
Consumers who do want to go abroad and want to bag themselves a bargain in terms of their holiday are urged to compare different deals with a range of providers in order to try and get the best deal possible.
One industry official said: ‘Some travel companies get preferential rates, which is why it always pays to shop around.’
Keen travellers can get themselves a bargain on a long haul adventure by checking out deals from a number of providers via the Internet.
Tags: advance, holidays, fuel, different deals, bargain, trip, United Kingdom, way
