V-Flyer

So the olympics are here, the sports supporters are here, and the other tourists arent.

Not surprising London is overall no busier than usual, as with LHR and LGW operating at 98%+ and average load factors at this time of year normally in the region of 85%+ I guess, how were more people overall to get here.

I know load data is confidential and sensitive, but just wonder whether anyone can indicate whether VS have done better or worse than usual in this period. Also, did they get a share of transporting competitors, there seems to be plenty of Chinese and Japanese around?

My last 3 J flights would suggest they're doing worse than normal... LOTS of empty seats in the past few weeks.

preiffer wrote:My last 3 J flights would suggest they're doing worse than normal... LOTS of empty seats in the past few weeks.

That'll almost certainly be because many business people have been told not to travel by their companies owing to the crazy hotel prices and predictions of travel armageddon!

RLF wrote:Not surprising London is overall no busier than usual, as with LHR and LGW operating at 98%+ and average load factors at this time of year normally in the region of 85%+ I guess, how were more people overall to get here.

The airports might be quiet, where you getting your data from? But the London Underground is currently at 10% more passengers, with Friday and Saturday comming to be the busiest days. So they have gotten here somehow...

You can thank Sky and BBC for the constant news coverage predicting dire immigration queues and reports of accomodation costs sky rocketing. Several people that traditionally make an annual pilgrimage to London each summer holiday have chosen to visit other places via other airlines or have just stayed home and saved their money.

The recent UC sale, which featured some of the lowest fares for years for flights in July & August, would suggest loads weren't particularly high.

gumshoe wrote:The recent UC sale, which featured some of the lowest fares for years for flights in July & August, would suggest loads weren't particularly high.

I have to agree with the above - especially when you consider that the last Virgin UC sale "just happened" to coincide with a BA sale with amazingly similar cheap fares. So in theory, the lower than normal load factors are not just on VS.

Hamster wrote:

RLF wrote:Not surprising London is overall no busier than usual, as with LHR and LGW operating at 98%+ and average load factors at this time of year normally in the region of 85%+ I guess, how were more people overall to get here.

The airports might be quiet, where you getting your data from? But the London Underground is currently at 10% more passengers, with Friday and Saturday comming to be the busiest days. So they have gotten here somehow...

What I was trying to suggest is that there was very little capacity for additional flights as LHR and LGW are running at almosty saturation, load factors are often quoted in the high 70 low 80%'s Seems those who are here are going to events, leaving central London businesses empty.

Thanks for the other comments, its what I guessed was happening, be interesting to see what happens in September, whether biusiness travellers take those trips which they deferred from summer.

Quite simply, big events are a turn off for people not interested in the event. I would not go to Hannover during a Hannover fair unless I was attending. You wouldn't go near Glastonbury during a festival. No one is going near London during the Olympics. The flight sales speak for themselves and I do have a flight soon and have seen the cheapest upgrade prices that I can recall to upgrade into upper class!

Sadly it sounds like, fewer people are visiting England during the Olympics. I do hope the many people running small hospitality and tourist companies don't have to close due to a poor summers takings.

gumshoe wrote:The recent UC sale, which featured some of the lowest fares for years for flights in July & August, would suggest loads weren't particularly high.

Agree and in fact the UC sale that began in June (to the US at least) is still running, having been extended at least three times, most recently by two more weeks (until 15 Aug). And this sale came hot on the heels of the one with the colossal reductions. So I think it's safe to assume that they are looking at low loads.

What will be interesting will be to see if the customary end-of-August sale now materialises...

Adastral wrote:Quite simply, big events are a turn off for people not interested in the event.

totally agree with this and what Tinuks said. The bigger the fuss, the more wearisome it all becomes, and a lot of people just can't be bothered to travel in those circumstances!

Personally I feel the London Olympics has had a very insignificant effect on sale of fares.

Majority of 'average passengers' who fill those PE and Economy seats using their hard earned salary to fund their once or twice a year holidays, are the ones who are not booking the flights these days. The exorbitant rise in taxes & surcharges are unbelievable and as a result the average fares for long haul trips are now becoming out of the reach of my thousands of 'average' families.

I know it's the business traveller using corporate funds who bring in alot of revenue but companies are cutting down wherever possible these days and this coupled with empty seats is having an alarming effects on profit, as SRB has pointed out. The Olympics might have had a bit of an effect but are certainly not to blame. Greedy oil barons are responsible. In fact passenger numbers might be up at this period of time because of all the people travelling to and from London for the olympics