Updated 11 October
The 11 September atrocity and the necessary American and British response have dealt a body blow to Britain's tourist industry already suffering from a disastrous summer following the hoof and mouth epidemic. The knock on effects from the New York terrorist attacks are proving drastic and may be prolonged. Transatlantic air bookings have slumped by over 30%. Unfortunately for prospective visitors to UK all the transatlantic air carriers have chosen to cut jobs and flight schedules rather than seat prices. British Airways for instance have cancelled 190 flights a day, cutting out their New York - London/Gatwick schedule and curtailing their direct flights from San Diego - London/Gatwick. Other carriers have followed suit. Aer Lingus, the Dublin based airline has cut its operations by 25% and is reported to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Air Canada has mothballed 84 planes. American Airlines, Continental and Delta have similarly slashed their operations by significant margins.
The current perceived wisdom is that present price cutting will not bring back the transatlantic passengers so jobs and schedules have to go. It remains to be seen however whether an airline breaks ranks in the near future and starts cutting seat prices. The problem is that there is precious little financial margin for the airlines to cut into. Off season transatlantic economy fares which supply the tourist market have been rock bottom for a number of years. I expect that price cuts, if any, will be made on the lucrative 'business' and 1st class fares and possibly precipitated by Sir Richard Branson's carrier Virgin Atlantic.
Sir Richard is never loath to give British Airways a run for their money. Virgin runs daily flights to London/Heathrow ex Boston, New York/Newark and JFK, Washington DC, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco and London/Gatwick ex Orlando. I still consider their service on the Atlantic run to be unrivalled. Check out their website www.virgin.com for special offers
The situation is very different on short haul flights within Europe, where the cut price airlines are cutting fares rather than seats. Once in Britain visitors based in London can now indulge in short breaks in a variety of cities served by no frills Ryanair, Easyjet, Go or Buzz flying out of London/Stansted. Ryanair's offer of midweek flights to Glasgow or Dublin for £4 is unbeatable. They have similarly unbeatable flight offers to the delights of Salzburg , Venice and other European cities available on their website www.ryanair.com during the travel period 23 October - 20 January.
