LONDON- Long-haul economy class airfares in Europe are predicted to drop one percent in 2015 against a background of global price falls, according to consultants Advito.
In Asia, Africa and the Middle East prices are expected to fall by 3 percent, compared with a two percent drop in Latin America and a one per cent fall in the Southwest Pacific. In the US they are not expected to change.
For short haul flights economy fares are predicted to rise by two-percent in Europe, Latin America and the US, while dropping three percent in Asia, one-percent in Southwest Pacific andfour-percent in both the Middle East and Africa.
Business class fares for both long and short haul flights in Europe are expected to increase three percent. Across other regions they will rise by 2 per cent for long haul, except in Africa where they will increase one per cent, and the Middle East where they will drop 1 per cent. For short haul they will fall three percent, except for two percent rises in the US, Latin America and Southwest Pacific.
In its updated 2015 forecast, Advito said variations were explained by contrasting economic outlooks and differing levels of demand and capacity, while a fall in the price of oil would not translate into lower fares as “airlines often rely on fuel hedging as a convenient excuse not to bring down prices”.
Hotel prices in Europe, Asia, Southwest Pacific and the Middle East are predicted to rise by two to four percent, and in the UK by four to six percent. In the US they are expected to increase by six to seven percent, in Latin America by five to seven percent and in Africa by seven to nine percent.-supplymanagement.com
