Gold Medal and Travel 2 report rising interest in premium travel

Gold Medal and Travel 2 have reported a boost in scheduled air travel over the last year, with flight bookings up seven per cent overall. 

The rise signifies their highest level of worldwide air growth over the last decade. Whilst North American bookings have traditionally grown by an annual average of three per cent, they have skyrocketed to 12 per cent over the last 12 months. Similarly, European bookings have doubled from four per cent to eight per cent and Middle East interest is up from 10 per cent to 15 per cent year to date.

The biggest growth areas have come from the front end of the planes, with bookings up by a third. First class bookings are up 35 per cent whilst business class interest is up 27 per cent and premium economy has increased by 31 per cent.

With Heathrow at capacity and Gatwick Airport expected to reach its limits by 2020, the worldwide operators have also seen the number of passengers travelling from cities other than London rise by over a third in the last decade.

Whilst air traffic is up 22 per cent overall across the two dnata members, the biggest regional increases since 2014 have come from Birmingham (up 60 per cent), Manchester (up 30 per cent) and Newcastle (up 15 per cent) and Scotland (up eight per cent).

In Birmingham part of the success can be attributed to the rise in access by Middle Eastern airlines, with the 70 per cent upsurge in Emirates’ flights mirroring the increased capacity since introducing an Airbus A380 to the route earlier this year.  What’s more, with Qatar Airways having announced daily service between the Midlands-based airport and Doha in March this year, this is a trend that is expected to continue.

Gordon McCreadie, director of sales and marketing Gold Medal and Travel 2, said: “Ticket prices have fallen by an average of five per cent over the last year across all cabins, which has helped agents encourage customers to consider upgrading the flight element of their travel.”

“For many years UK holidaymakers have had to journey via one of the London or European hubs when travelling long-haul. However, as more and more airlines commit to providing direct connections from across the UK, the improved regional air connectivity is clearly having a positive effect on consumer travel generally.  Obviously this enhanced choice is great news for travel agents and their customers alike and a trend we expect to continue as further airlines increase their regional services.”