Navigating the new Normal

After months of economic uncertainty, airlines and tour operators have seen significant changes in demand for their products. This article analyses the impact of changing economic circumstances on aviation and travel, looks at how operators are responding and asks whether the travel landscape has changed permanently.

Spending power
Within leisure travel, job market uncertainties and the falling value of Sterling have impacted consumer confidence. Holidaymakers who had become accustomed to a strong pound have seen their spending power slash in their favourite destinations .

Airlines have been quick to spot this opportunity with additional routes being set up to resorts outside the Eurozone in Turkey and Egypt, and tour operators have also shifted capacity to these regions.

Despite this, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) statistics for the budget airlines continue to show good results for Euroland package resorts, with Monarch reporting huge demand for the Canary Islands as a destination during summer 2009 Flights purchased in Sterling are not being affected by the exchange rates,