Egencia, a US-based online travel company, is reporting that average airfares from London are expected to fall in 2013.
The company research predicts that airfares will decrease, following the expected stagnation in hotel rates in 2013. The airfares are likely to fall by around 3 percent from London area airports in 2013, although airfares may increase by around 3 percent in Europe, and up to 5 percent in North America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Rob Greyber, the company president, said, ‘The global economy is volatile, and we’ve seen some deterioration in CEO (chief executive officer) sentiment in recent months. But suppliers have carefully managed capacity this year so we expect, even with moderating demand, some slight pricing increases in most regions. Even with the potential for higher costs, we believe there are a number of opportunities to save and we are working closely with clients to ensure they achieve their goals.’
The company has also reported that average daily rate at hotels in London is likely to be approximately GBP116 per night, which is around a 2.8 percent increase on the same period in 2012. The report suggests that although there will be slight improvement in the travel scenario in Europe, the industry will still remain sluggish in 2013.
Germain Huber, vice president of Supplier Relations & Consulting at Egencia EMEA, said, ‘From our end, we can see 2 trends: on the one hand, companies keep slowly investing in business travel; on the other hand, air and hotel pricing environment is increasing. But opportunities for savings can still be found and the TMC has an important role to play.’
