Early birds catch the boat...
As we all know, times are a-changing,
and while we have enjoyed an era of last minute holidays and
knock-your-socks off deals if we're prepared to hang on until a few
weeks before departure, it seems that this era may have pretty much
come to an end.
A result of the last very painful few
months of upheavals in the travel market and the global economy
generally, capacity has been tightly squeezed and cutbacks mean that
seats on planes, as well as the airlines' routes, are much fewer.
XL's collapse left a huge gap in capacity, and even no-frills airlines Ryanair and
easyJet have caused rumbles with many winter routes stopped. And
these are but a few.
The consequence of this for the
consumer is that the 'lates' market we have become so accustomed to
has shrunk considerably, and combined with the fact that fuel
supplements can add so much to the price of travel now, the bargains
we were used to no longer can be had. And this appears to be the
general consensus from the travel trade.
In a recent issue of the TTG (Travel
Trade Gazette), managing director of Virgin Holidays Amanda Wills
claims that now it is the “early bird that catches the flight”,
for the very reasons stated, and she warns that “leaving it late
doesn't guarantee a lower price. But it may guarantee a smaller
choice.”
Just one example I'm aware of comes
from the cruise market, where it is the early bird that catches the
boat. Viking River Cruises have already sold 65% of capacity for 2009
after having an early launch of their programme, offering major price
benefits for customers who book at beginning, instead of the end, of
the sales period. So, that's almost two thirds of their 2009 holidays
already sold.
It does, of course, depend of what you
are looking for. But even for the independent traveller who rarely
books any kind of holiday or cruise package, with less 'bum-space' on
airlines overall, those who leave it late to book flights could find
they end up not flying at all, either because there is no
availability, or the price is prohibitively expensive.
Unless we are prepared to forego any
real choice when it comes to picking a holiday, and be left with the
bottom of the barrel, the best deals on offer now are available well
in advance of travel. If you have your heart set on a particular
holiday, it's probably best not to leave it until you've got 3 weeks
(or even 3 months) to go.
Andrea Wren
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