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?

All those saying book in advance, prices ro my home country (which is a popular tourist destination) in August have been very high since they went on sale. Some destinations don’t have £20 tickets from the day they go on sale.

I'm going to Mallorca next week - £130 return for 3 of us.

Agree that Feb 1/2 term is skiing, or trying for somewhere warm.

I've booked Turkey for June, it was more expensive than I'd imagined, hadn't realised prices had increased so much since Covid.

We booked our flights to Geneva last September, £1200 for the 4 of us, £23 each way last week 😭

Move to Wales

Our half term is the week after, prices much more reasonable

I’d rather never fly again! 🤭

In other news I went for lunch with my sister yesterday and we’d somehow not realised it was Valentine’s Day so our usual place didn’t have the £15-20 ish mains we normally have and we had to have their £30 Valentine’s special menu.
It’s just businesses doing business.

I swear some people want the government to facilitate every aspect of their lives. When we had this thread before there were suggestions that the government come up with laws that would have to apply to how much other people in foreign countries could charge for their accommodation in UK school holidays!

This
just this

my dad is from another country, during my first 18 years we went to his home country 4 times, because flights were expensive. It’s sad but that’s one of the costs of being a migrant. The airline companies exist to make money, not to facilitate families to have nice times…. I actually think that’s a bad thing! I’m in favour of renationalising everything & doing away with capitalism all together! But you can’t pretend that it’s a new thing or that it’s an unexpected thing.

It’s school staff I feel sorry for. It’s not as though they are paid a premium and therefore it’s fine to pay extra for holidays.

So, a last minute flight tomorrow is 9 times the price of a flight for halfterm week - which starts 24 March
Sounds like it's last minuite bookers who are the ones to loose out.

I think you're absolutely bonkers to prioritise school over taking your kids to see your family.

People are moaning but nobody makes you pay! This going away for every holiday seems absolutely mad to me, I'm in my 50s, we only went away away for a proper holiday in the summer holidays. Every other holiday was at home just being a bit bored or going to grandparents house.

People are constantly moaning about the price of activities and events eg Christmas lights/seeing Santa. They seem to need to have every holiday filled up! Just don't do it!

Mallorca in February is very out of season, I can’t imagine lots of people are trying to go during feb half term.

It will be cold.

How is this price gouging?

Interesting, around here the Welsh schools have just had theirs, as have some counties of England. We're on the border and our Easter holiday is also a week different to many this year.

@MidnightPatrol agree! We are trying a day trip. I'm not one for heat so wouldn't choose a beach holiday anyway.

It's forecast to be 19 so warm enough.

It's always been like this. Husband is a teacher so I've been stuck in it since way before kids.

You’re flying to Mallorca for a day trip?

I’d rather never fly again!

Yes, it's not really much compensation 😂