Now with all the cuts

[skelfbsfb]

Now that the chancellor has announced all the recent cuts and job loses, will this have an affect on wether you go or not.

Maybe all the travel companies will realise that there is not alot of money going around and will reduce their prices.

 

[Dimplenose]

We weren't going to go for a while because of helping the kids with their university costs - with those going up before DD goes to uni it'll be even longer before we're in a position to have expensive holidays.

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

Interesting question.

I hope that we would not be effected but I guess no one can really tell.

Travel companies might find times tougher still if people have lower disposable income.

 

[wayneg]

I think as its been shown in the past 2 years since the financial problems started there are less airlines/Tour ops/ (FlyGlobespan, Travel City Direct & others & mergers) all mean far less seat capacity and competition.
Had a chat with Virgin Atlantic Rep today, he was amazed I got Miles and Money flights in August for next year, he said they have cut to the bare minimum and almost impossible to get, they can charge what they like in school hols to discount rest of year if needed.
All this means no, I don't think we will see any great cuts, yes the odd bargain but they would rather charge more and provide less seats.
We have cut from going upto 4 times a year to just once this next year but the year we went 4 times we paid about £1,200pp total for 4 flights, this next year I have paid £867pp for 1 flight. I know if I was the airline I would rather sell 1 return seat at £867 than 4 return seats at £1,200.

 

[skelfbsfb]

Wayne I have managed to locate flights through virgin atlantic using miles as well for July, but it still works out about £760. Who would you go with if you had the choice Virgin, Thomas Cook or US Airways. Sorry know its off topic.

 

[2Tiggies]

Wayne I have managed to locate flights through virgin atlantic using miles as well for July, but it still works out about £760. Who would you go with if you had the choice Virgin, Thomas Cook or US Airways. Sorry know its off topic.

July is a bit easier. I see you are also north of the border. Although our schools are off from the end of June, if you do a departure from and English airport, their schools are still in session so you should still find the odd bargain if they are about.

I have never done Florida with Thomas Cook but my memories of their flights are quite pleasant. I don't use them though because I want to use Magical Express and no car so Sanford throws a spanner in the works. If they flew to MCO I would go with them. In the current climate it is a case of whoever is cheapest now.

 

[Kath2003]

Obviously we hope we won't be affected BUT we're not going to Orlando at the moment because of the prices We would like to go again in 2011 but at the moment the flight prices are insane: I would be willing to go to £400 (last year we paid £340) but at the moment I can't seem to even find anything less than £500.

But it's simple: if it's not at the right price, we won't go. Hopefully there'll be plenty of folk like us and the prices will reflect usual inflation increases once more. If not, we'll stay home.

 

[wayneg]

Wayne I have managed to locate flights through virgin atlantic using miles as well for July, but it still works out about £760. Who would you go with if you had the choice Virgin, Thomas Cook or US Airways. Sorry know its off topic.

My opinions, last time i went with Virgin I said I wouldn't fly with them again til they got new planes, food was horrible, staff were ignorant, they stopped serving alcohol 2 hours into the flight(didn't bother me but I thought it was off when they are supposed to provide the service) interior of plane was held together with tape, cracked screens, earphone sockets damaged. Booked again for next year after 2.5 years, hope they will be better.
Thomas Cook never been with them but don't like Sanford, only used it once 7 years ago but it wasn't a good experience.
US Airways been with twice no problems but 5-6 years ago so no recent experience.
I would just go with whoever gives best price, best times and best route.

 

[choccieaddict]

Obviously we hope we won't be affected BUT we're not going to Orlando at the moment because of the prices We would like to go again in 2011 but at the moment the flight prices are insane: I would be willing to go to £400 (last year we paid £340) but at the moment I can't seem to even find anything less than £500.

But it's simple: if it's not at the right price, we won't go. Hopefully there'll be plenty of folk like us and the prices will reflect usual inflation increases once more. If not, we'll stay home.

same here, the flight prices for the four of us next August mean we aren't comfortable with the financial stretch for a third trip in 3 years. Instead we are going back to our usual haunt, Spain, for just £80 each, each way. Part of the reason, although not strictly recession-related, is that our bank has changed its charging policies and I don't like the new ones, so this autumn has seen a push for us to pay off our overdraft completely. We're nearly there, only another £500 to find Once we've achieved that we won't have to save much for Spain as it's a poolside break, and when I've saved that I'm going to plan a big trip west

 

[Dollyrar]

It has certainly had an affect on our thinking. The main expense right now is the price of the flights, so our current plan is to save for a longer period this time and miss a years Disney . We will go back in October 2012 for 3 weeks though, rather than 2, and buy annual passes for Disney and Universal. We will then return in September/October 2013 for 3 weeks to use the annual passes before they expire, which should increase the value as our day to day living costs over there are small.

 

[ford family]

Don't forget the impact of increased and increasing taxes.
We booked three BA flights to Tampa the other day for January next year.
Using BA miles, one fare was, naturally, £0 but the taxes were £194.
Using cash, each of the other fares was £296 plus taxes of £222.
The point is, the ability of airlines to cut longhaul fares out of the UK is limited as the taxes outside of their control make up such a large part of the fare.

ford family

 

[Kath2003]

same here, the flight prices for the four of us next August mean we aren't comfortable with the financial stretch for a third trip in 3 years. Instead we are going back to our usual haunt, Spain, for just £80 each, each way.

I have a budget in my head. If I can't find companies to meet my requirements, we just don't go.

The problem is that I doubt there are many like me

 

[skelfbsfb]

The way that prices are continually rising and peoples income reducing will have an effect on visiting WDW. I hope and its a big HOPE that these companies realise that people do not have the funds like they did in the past. Now I know that companies have tax to pay, but we pay tax in our price and also if they can sell a flight for £299 in April then surely they can do that in July.

 

[wayneg]

if they can sell a flight for £299 in April then surely they can do that in July.

You can't compare prices for one time of year to another. If they charged £800pp in April the plane would probably go over half empty, charge it in July/August and they can fill it, they have no reason to cut prices if people pay. Now of we all refuse to pay they have to reduce but enough pay it.
Same in my business, red roses are 3-4 times regular price for Valenines day, growers could sell them at regular price but the demand is there to get what they do.
Virgin lost £132 million last year, can't see them cutting prices anytime soon unfortunately.

 

[skelfbsfb]

Agree wayne but the point i was trying to make is that we are always told that its the tax that puts the prices up, but they can sell tickets at £299 so basically they are flying the plane for nothing if they dont sell PE or business class.

 

[wayneg]

Agree wayne but the point i was trying to make is that we are always told that its the tax that puts the prices up, but they can sell tickets at £299 so basically they are flying the plane for nothing if they dont sell PE or business class.

They sell at a low price or send an empty plane, better making £100/seat than an empty seat. July/August they sell at a realistic price to make a profit and recoup money they lose at quiet times of year.
I am sure they would prefer to sell at a fixed average price all year but school holiday demand(or lack of demand in term time) wouldn't allow that.

Glad I don't own an airline

 

[2Tiggies]

I have a budget in my head. If I can't find companies to meet my requirements, we just don't go.

The problem is that I doubt there are many like me

I am halfway to being like you Kath - except I won't give up all, I will only compromise. If I need to wait a few months more to get the trip I want, so be it. I won't wait another whole year for it, but our recent trip was 18 months since our visit last year so although we still went both years, if I pushed next year's one out to April 2012 we would have skipped a calendar year. I don't want to go on an extreme budget. There are things that are important to me on my trips and I am willing to wait if need be to have them but like you, I am not willing to put myself into financial difficulty just to go at a specific time because it happens to fall 12 months away from the previous trip. I also don't want to be watching every penny while over there - that is no holiday to me.

We are all going to have to keep our eyes and ears open for deals and offers to try and help each other out.

 

[skelfbsfb]

We are all going to have to keep our eyes and ears open for deals and offers to try and help each other out.

Well said, only hope that there will be some bargins. Only bargins I see just now are the 2 stop flights and I personally dont fancy it, but if its the only way to get then I may have to consider.

Flights that I looked at last night have gone up another £80

 

[2Tiggies]

Well said, only hope that there will be some bargins. Only bargins I see just now are the 2 stop flights and I personally dont fancy it, but if its the only way to get then I may have to consider.

Flights that I looked at last night have gone up another £80

What are your dates? Another thing I found is that sometimes the flights are not much different by being flexible with a few days either side of your dates BUT resort packages can be. Just looking at next October and by leaving 2 days earlier I would save £240 on the same number of nights. If I take the whole package together with the flights, it doesn't really matter where the discount comes from - overall I am still that amount better off so I could look at it as if my flights cost £400 each instead of £520 each. Does that make any sense? It is one thing to get the best deal on each part of your DIY package, but it does help to look at the big picture.

What are your dates?

 

[gemmybear83]

I think its far too early too for people to judge what difference the cuts will make.

Also remember that a lot of what the Government/media are saying is hype. Two of my funding streams were always due to end in 2011 the Government and media are portraying that they have cut these funds to save £££ when it was planned all long and those staff paid using those funding streams were always on fixed term contracts etc......

My employer has been working towards 25% savings for the last year in preperation for this, and the cuts were not as bad expected!