Travel agents are “making hay while the sun shines” with sales exceeding expectations as airport chaos eases.
Flight disruption over the past two peak-season weekends appears to have been limited despite the mayhem at Dover at the start of the school holidays and British Airways exacerbating concerns by suspending short-haul bookings from Heathrow this week.
BA gave few details of the suspension other than saying: “We’ve decided to limit the available fares on some Heathrow services to help maximise rebooking options for existing customers.” This was “as a result of Heathrow’s request to limit new bookings”, it said.
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The suspension is limited to short-haul flights and “currently in place” until August 8.
Despite BA’s action, the second weekend of peak summer passed with “no problems” according to the Airport Operators Association. A spokesman said: “It’s been relatively calm. The capacity cap at Heathrow is having an impact and we’re seeing the benefits of having time to recruit staff.”
Agents credited reduced disruption for boosting late sales.
Greenstar Travel managing director Martyn Fisher said: “Six weeks ago no-one knew what was happening with strikes or cancellations. People put overseas holidays on the back burner. Now, if they book for the next four to six weeks the chances are it’s going to happen.”
Agents also reported stronger than usual sales for the time of year.
Sutton Travel reported a record July; its best month in 13 years’ trading. Its previous record month was January 2018.
“It’s remarkable and took us by surprise,” admitted managing director Andy Tomlinson, who said: “Normally new business starts slowing down in July and August. Sales are ramping up more than ever. We have to make hay while the sun shines.”
He added: “We are still getting late bookings and enquiries for 2023. Feedback from clients is that going through the airport is smoother and problems have been addressed.”
Miles Morgan Travel also enjoyed its best-ever July, with bookings mainly for short-haul holidays over the next three months.
“We’ve waited for this for two years. I cannot think of any measure that is not going in our direction at the moment. We keep thinking the bubble will burst; we’re nervous every week,” said chairman Miles Morgan, who believes the declining Covid rate is easing airport staffing issues.
Referring to recent delays for holidaymakers travelling through the port of Dover, he added: “People have lived through Covid and know what its ugly head looks like and it’s not a queue at Dover.”
The Travel Snob’s David Walker said sales were significantly exceeding expectations. “My target for the year was £3 million and I will have done that by the end of this month,” he said.
Althams Travel finished July with sales at 82% of July 2019 levels, of which 56% were late bookings and around 35% for next summer. Managing director Sandra McAllister was “cautiously positive” about trading.
“Sales are really good. I’m happy with 82% but my target is to achieve 2019 levels. Having said that 2019 was the best year we’d ever had,” she said, adding: “We have to be grateful that the people who are booking are prepared to spend a little bit more to get a really good holiday.”
She admitted negative media reports had impacted late sales. “We had quiet days when airports were on TV. The media really makes a difference to how people feel and knocks confidence,” she said.
Premier Travel reported “really strong” with sales growth in double digits for the last two weeks following e a slower than hoped for start to July. The month ended 8% ahead of July 2019.
“We were really pleased with this given all of the negative coverage the industry has been experiencing of late and the uncertainty around the cost of living,” said director Paul Waters, adding: “This has helped our peak July and August departures increase even further on our 2019 figures, which is pleasing to see.”
Late bookings were still coming in, he said, but the focus was now shifting to later in the year.
“Additional sales for this summer will be extra icing on the cake and we will continue to maximise on these, however the majority of our focus is turning to the autumn and 2023 as we see further demand for these periods increasing week on week,” he said.
Gary Gillespie, managing director, Independent Travel Experts, said more than 50% of its homeworkers’ sales were for this summer but said bookings were taking longer to service due to a “significant increase” in client queries.
Advantage Travel Partnership said higher prices rather than travel disruption was driving the start of a shift to sales for later this year and 2023.
Chief commercial officer Kelly Cookes said: “There are concerns over pricing. This coupled with the cost of living increase is causing concern but so far demand and sales continue to outperform 2019.”
More: Flight disruption ‘past peak’ as British Airways limits August sales