Leading figures discuss first-quarter trading at Google’s King’s Cross offices. Lee Hayhurst reports
‘Brits abroad will help seal a deal on EU flying rights’
The reliance on UK tourism in EU countries such as Spain is fuelling confidence that a deal will be done on flying rights as part of the Brexit negotiations.
EasyJet, which has 30% of its flying programme between EU destinations, is exploring options for registering aircraft in Europe to guarantee it can continue flying those routes.
Sophie Dekkers, UK country director, said easyJet had been lobbying for an aviation agreement outside of the main Brexit talks.
However, she said that it looked like aviation would be wrapped up in the broader Brexit deal.
Dekkers said this was a concern because it would be linked to talks on other key aspects of Britain’s ongoing relationship with Europe.
However, she was confident a deal would be done on aviation because of how important the UK is as a source market.
“Our confidence comes from the fact that as a country we provide so much inbound tourism to countries like Spain.
“We cannot envisage a scenario in which these countries would not want an agreement; 25% of tourism to Spain is from the UK.
“Also flying is not an import or an export. It enables business from both sides. We are not taking anything for granted.”
Dekkers said easyJet had been given assurances by transport secretary Chris Grayling that aviation is top of his agenda because it is the mode of transport most affected by Brexit.
However, she warned there is no World Trade Organisation fallback for aviation as there is for general trading, and no deal would mean relying on the 1944 Chicago Agreement. This means the UK would have to make bilateral agreements country by country. EasyJet is lobbying with other carriers through Airlines for Europe (A4E) and Airlines UK.
US demand for Europe is strong, says Bouldin
The cruise sector is benefiting from increased demand from Americans wanting to travel to Europe, according to Royal Caribbean.
UK managing director Ben Bouldin said: “There’s lots of interest in long-haul and Europe has been selling well. From a UK point of view there’s the interesting dynamic of Americans wanting to come to Europe.”
Questioned about whether cruise lines are suffering from reduced margins due to discounting as capacity increases, Bouldin said Royal Caribbean had been achieving good rates.
“I’m aware of some exceptional value in the marketplace but Royal Caribbean price points have been strong this year.”
Bouldin said rising prices for land holidays in hotspots such as Spain had turned the spotlight on the value a cruise offers.
“The inherent value of cruises is still the biggest surprise to the consumer. Cruise still has a perception of being expensive.”
Bouldin added: “We finished last year really strongly. We have only just put 2018 on sale, so we’re quite late to the market.
“What’s really coming through for us is people are choosing to spend their money on holidays.
“It’s more important for them to go on holiday. That bodes well for the whole industry.”
Brexit’s unknowns ‘are a major concern for all of us in travel’
Brexit is a major concern due to uncertainty about what it might mean for the industry and travel firms.
Hays Travel’s John Hays said contradictory claims from government and Abta about what Brexit would mean for the Ehic health card illustrated the uncertainty. He said: “You get the feeling it’s all being done on a wing and a prayer. We do not look as if we have a plan. That’s worrying for everyone in this room.”
Jeannette Linfoot, managing director of Saga’s tour operating division, said the firm was focusing on the things it had control over.
“Our approach is that there are short-term impacts that we will deal with as business as usual.
“There are things we can see and take action on, but there is a whole list of things we do not know about at this time. We want it to be easy for people to travel, we do not want blockages put in the way.”
Linfoot said the operator was having constructive discussions with contacts in Westminster, but added: “I would not want the task of sorting all this out.
“In the meantime we need constructive, open dialogue to [get across our concerns] as a combined industry to those who are trying to work through this.”
Royal Caribbean’s Ben Bouldin said he expected all areas of travel to be impacted by Brexit, adding that 60% of its customers fly and all lines are affected by customs rules.