Service not meeting demand for flights to Yorkshire’s European holiday hotspots: Matt Cheshire

People have worked hard this year, it’s three years since the pandemic and the backlog of holidays that it brought. There’s a buoyant feeling generally about the summer and more confidence than ever before about flying abroad. Some are even buying houses overseas again. This shift has brought a surge in demand for scheduled airline flights. But unfortunately, service isn’t meeting demand in the aviation market.

Many are finding that scheduled airlines are already booked up because many carriers are still not up to pre-Covid service capacity. The reason is that these companies usually report to boards and/or the markets so they have to ramp up slower and prove profitability at every stage. For the likes of Jet2 and EasyJet, there are also shortages of crew and large ongoing recruitment drives to fill positions.

There are no £5.99 flights to Faro anymore, some routes have been reduced, and some have gone completely and the ones that remain can be at very unsociable times. And if you do manage to book one, there is still a risk of strikes or flights being cancelled due to multiple flights within the day.

As a result, we’ve seen people forgo scheduled airlines and instead charter private jets.

We’ve seen a change in attitude generally when it comes to holidays. People seem to value time more preciously. They want to spend the time they have as effectively and pleasantly as possible, surrounded by the ones they love.

Some of our clients haven’t seen their families for years, some haven’t seen their second homes for three years, and some have worked hard this year, are burnt out already and just want to sit on a beach and recharge. Some just want to treat themselves so they’ll pay for a private jet to take them away.

Our clients aren’t necessarily frivolous - they’re Yorkshire folk after all - and many will charter a private jet but share it with other families or make sure it flies someone else home on a return journey so it is cost-effective and more sustainable.

Not all our clients are super wealthy either. People who can afford to, really value being able to take off immediately after check-in or after check-out at the other end, especially if they have young children or pets.

Also, some people simply still don’t want to be around large groups of people.

The airline industry has been slow to recover and adapt to the post-pandemic world which is a shame because people are more than ready to get back to going abroad.

But fortunately for those who can use our services, private aviation plugs the gap.

So, where are our clients flying to this summer? Well, the top three European holiday destinations for Yorkshire are Portugal, the Balearics and the south of France.

Where are you going?

Matt Cheshire runs The Needs Group