SPAA Members Update 27.9.24

While increasingly unpredictable weather may be here to stay + continue to challenge travel consumers worldwide, it has also contributed to a strong travel sales climate in September.

The GfK Confidence Barometer for August recorded a drop amongst consumers – partly due to the warnings coming from the new UK Government – but this has not been evident in booking habits, with late bookings, family trips for 2025 – and cruising markets all holding up strongly.

ABTA’s latest research further validates the case that travel confidence remains strong, and amongst some demographic groups it has actually strengthened in the last year.

Particularly interesting + reassuring in the feedback is that ‘those who booked with a travel professional remain very confident’ and ‘those who took a package holiday in the past year returned an even higher score’. Bearing in mind the catalogue of weather and other disruptions (such as ATC and security issues), the resilience of our clients is remarkable. It points to strong consumer satisfaction with the service we provide, which in turn, hopefully, helps to re-energise all of us when the going gets tough.

New Jet2 routes from Scotland for 2026

Jet2 has announced new routes from Scotland for its recently-launched Summer 2026 flying programme. 3 new destinations from Edinburgh – Kefalonia, Girona + Kalamata, will join 2 from Glasgow – Dubrovnik and Marrakech.

The airline’s newly-acquired, quieter and more fuel-efficient Airbus A321neo aircraft will join the operation from Glasgow – which is positive sustainability news. There will also be new services from Newcastle – Agadir, Preveza, Marrakech Barcelona and Porto.

SkyTeam to partner with Eurostar – the shape of things to come?

Elsewhere in the week’s connectivity news is the first partnership between an airline grouping and a major rail operator, as SkyTeam sign an MoU with Eurostar – to allow air and rail itineraries to be combined in a single reservation. Eurostar already has a long-established agreement with KLM; the new partnership will expand the concept significantly.

Given that emissions from train travel are up to 95% less than those of flying, this could not only signal the shape of things to come for Europe + long haul connectivity, but also further strengthen travel’s sustainability narrative.

ABTA Conference Call / Update on EES & ETIAS / Tuesday 24 September 2024 – including representatives from UK Home Office; FCDO + DfT – Notes

The SPAA was represented on this conference call to update interested parties on the current status of the planned roll-out of EES (EU Entry/Exit System), !0th November 2024, to be followed by ETIAS in 2025. A number of key discussion points follows and we encourage SPAA Members to download the complete notes (see below). Where indicated in the notes, further updates will follow as and when we receive them.

> Start date remains 10th November 2024; however there is a feeling this will be moved given that several member states have requested an extension

> There is confusion between EES and ETIAS – the message to travellers needs to be reiterated that there is no action required from them before travel at this stage

> Further down the line, they may introduce an app which might allow travellers to input some of their information in advance – but this is a long way off

> FCDO highlight that more people will be caught out with the 90 day stay rule – applicable to frequent travellers

> An industry toolkit is being developed by ABTA with assets and key messages that they would like us to use – we can expect to receive this in the next week or two

> ABTA will be supporting with a consumer site and a member site. They will mirror all government comms

> They wanted to reiterate that for both EES and ETIAS – it is still essential for industry to be letting customers know about their responsibility as a traveller to check requirements. If a traveller is declined entry, it is their responsibility – but operators etc need to demonstrate that they advised customers to check rules

Members who were in the audience for Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy’s remarks at the SPAA Annual Dinner earlier this year will recognise his strong plea to delegates at this week’s Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. Steve’s vision for the future of UK aviation – as a key contributor to economic growth, re-inforces our Future Travel Coalition proposals, submitted recently to the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP.

The key elements of our case support and advocate for Government investment in SAF development and supply, and apprenticeship and skills development. They also argue against excessive taxation of air travel and any other measures designed to ‘manage demand’. Undoubtedly, the most effective route to a stronger and healthier growth economy in the UK involves keeping air travel costs affordable for both business and leisure travellers, in an increasingly sustainable commercial aviation sector. We are continuing our engagement with the Government on these vital issues and futher updates will follow in future editions.

Your votes determine the Winners – be sure to take part!

Agents – please cast your votes for your favourite Suppliers, share the link with your colleagues and encourage them to vote too!

Associates – please cast your votes for your favourite Agencies. Go to the Voting Forms via the links below and cast your votes – not later than 5.30pm on Monday 14th October 2024

Travel Agent Members | Click here

Associate Members | Click here

As this edition of your weekly Update comes together, our final SPAA STAR event for 2024 is well under way in Glasgow, following on from the Aberdeen networking lunch and exhibition on Wednesday, and the ever-popular day in Edinburgh, earlier in the year.

Combining our Networking Lunches with the long-established, lively STAR (Scottish Travel Agents’ Roadshow) exhibitions has proven to be a winning formula over the past few years – not least given the contribution of our ever-stronger and more diverse group of SPAA Associate partners. They bring a powerful portfolio of travel products and services to the Scottish market and there’s always fresh and exciting news to catch up on.

We’ll have Event Extra bulletins for you- with all the pictures, coming up on Facebook + spaa.org over the next few days. Keep an eye on your email inbox + social media!

Have a restful, relaxing weekend, #Staysafe and take care, you and yours!

All the best ~