EXCLUSIVE: An aviation expert has offered a reassuring verdict on what summer travel will look like amid jet fuel worries. There has been a rise in last-minute holiday bookings from Brits due to concerns over jet fuel shortages, but the CEO of Airlines UK has issued reassurance for the coming months.
Jet Fuel Crisis Overview
The CEO of Airlines UK has shared his verdict on the jet fuel crisis and what this means for travel, including during the summer holidays. After the US-Israeli strikes broke out on February 28, air travel was thrown into turmoil, with cancelled routes and a sharp rise in the cost of jet fuel. The situation was made considerably worse by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of the world's oil and gas passes, triggering a global shortage.
Impact on Airlines
Amid the jet fuel crisis, Cathay Pacific cancelled a number of flights between May 16 and June 30, while Qantas Airways and Virgin Atlantic raised concerns about supply shortages and mounting costs. One of Europe's largest carriers, Lufthansa, also warned in April that grounding flights due to fuel shortages "may be unavoidable."
Consumer Behaviour
With uncertainty around air travel rife, some holidaymakers have been hesitant to book their next getaway, leading to a rise in last-minute bookings. Data from IPSOS, a market research firm, found that 5% of UK adults have cancelled a holiday because they are concerned they will not be able to get home amid jet fuel shortages, while another 10% are considering it. Meanwhile, IPSOS found that a quarter of Brits are continuing to look abroad for their next escape but are seeking alternative ways to travel rather than fly.
Expert Reassurance
However, a travel expert has reassured that there has been no current evidence of a jet fuel shortage in the UK. Speaking at ABTA's Travel Matters conference in London, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, said: "All of the information from the government, when we speak to the designated Department for Transport (DFT), is that we are not seeing a shortage. Visibility certainly over the next one or two months is very, very good, and that is not abnormal in terms of how airlines have visibility of future supply."
He added: "I think airlines are seeing that late bookings will be a driver, and the government has put in place a temporary slot alleviation purely as a precaution and contingency, which is something that some parts of the LX sector ask for purely just for taking some resilience into that system."
Future Outlook
"So, I am not going to say we are completely over the worst; we do not know how to do in situations, but I think we are in a better place than perhaps we were a couple months ago," Alderslade concluded. Due to rising jet fuel prices, there have also been concerns that airlines will need to increase their flight fares. When asked what this might look like in July, Alderslade told the ABTA conference: "There are good deals out there, airlines are competing, and they want early bookings, obviously for forward visibility. But I think it would not be too late in terms of future bookings, but there is plenty of supply out there."
