Shocking Flight Price Increases over Half Term!

[Roaminginthegloaming]

I’ve just read a Tweet posted by the travel correspondent Simon Calder on X just before noon today:

”Travel supply and demand.
February half-term air fares are extreme even by usual standards.
On Easy Jet from Gatwick-Geneva tomorrow (15 Feb) returning 22 Feb, seats are selling at £1,223*, 9 x more than the corresponding flights a week later.
*baggage not included”

Yikes! I’m so glad that my children are now adults and no longer tied to school holidays. My husband went on a ski trip a couple of weeks ago and flew from Southampton - Geneva on Easy Jet. They cancelled the return flight shortly after he booked it and he flew from Geneva to Bournemouth. The flights were much, much less expensive, even including checked in luggage.

Isn’t there an Office of Fair Trading which is supposed to monitor price gouging like this?

It’s always been this way. This is why people go in term time and either suck up the fines or ring their children in sick. It’s supply and demand.

Is it price gouging or just supply and demand? That’s a ski route at a popular ski time, so naturally it’s going to be more. Just one of those costs you factor in when you decide to have children then travel with them.

That’s a last minute booking though isn’t it. That’s how capitalism works.

It's one of the reasons why we will never fully reduce the amount of parents taking children out of school for term time holidays, or at least finishing a few days early or returning a bit late.

Since fines were in place many areas have seen a rise in term time holidays, not a decrease iirr.

It's called dynamic pricing. It's been like that a long time. If you want a holiday in half term you need to book very far ahead.

Booking last minute is always going to be pretty crazy.

I was thinking about going away over Easter and have given up as it’s prohibitively expensive.

Flights have, in general, increased massively in price which makes it feel more extreme.

I’m sure im paying 2-3x as much for flights as five years ago on any route, at any time!

It's not price gouging, it's on your OP that it's supply and demand.
If someone wants to have a very very last minute flight at peak times, they pay for it, or choose a cheaper day.

Yep, dynamic pricing and all that.

Many year back now I had to book, on the day, a one way ticket on a non holiday route, off season, with Easyjet…

I was pretty familiar with fares on the route in question and I reckon it probably cost 5 times as much, if not more to do that than it would have done if I’d bought it maybe a month in advance.

If it had been peak season/school hols I reckon the multiplier would have been higher.

It's been like this for decades

It's hardly a revelation

It’s comparing a last minute booking during half term, to an advance booking not in half term. It’s not comparing like with like and is hyperbolic

yes costs go up during holidays.

I’m skiing at the moment and there are lots of kids here even though it is the week before half term in most schools and the parents are open about taking them out as it is only week and in any case the one before half term. Lots of SAHM so no pressure on annual leave. I fully expect prices in future to rise for this week to as is becoming so mainstream. (I’m not one of the btw -booked this week not expecting so many kids!!)

I find this very unfair and incredibly frustrating. I haven’t seen my mum, sister and her family since 2021 as we simply cannot afford the flights in the holidays. 3 tickets for us over Easter is over 1k (in Europe) but just £230 2 weeks before and after these dates. I don’t take my children out of school which means I don’t think I’ll be able to see my family for a very long time. This should not be allowed to happen.

I know it’s distressing for many but those thinking dynamic proving shouldn’t be allowed or thinking in terms of gouging maybe need to be aware that at least to some degree what is going on here is the airlines balancing their books across the season/year and aiming to make maybe £10-£ 20 max per passenger on average over the time period.

Find some way of capping fares on certain flights/over certain periods and the airlines will find another way of balancing the books.

That will lead to push back from those who can avoid traveling during the periods/days of the week when prices tend to be high.

Pricing also goes up when there is interest in a flight. Most of us booked as a group on one day. The following day, the fact same flights were nearly £100 more for the last couple who didn't book the same day as the rest of us.

I think for skiing, the cost difference is so vast, that taking kids out of school might save several thousand pounds.

So - no surprise really it’s common.

If you only got round to booking your ski holiday today for next week I think you should expect to be paying a premium...

Not true

It's just an example of demand pricing, it's last minute so people who need to travel have to pay the price for the few seats left. They would have been around 1/4 of that price originally if not less.

Dh is flying Sunday (for work) and the tickets were horrendous but company is paying so doesn't matter

You can see your family. Once you realise the school doesn't run your life for you. You can't be that bothered about seeing them.

It hasn’t always been that extreme. I have family abroad, and go abroad a lot and prices have increased massively since the pandemic.