Airline reports bookings up 43 percent

[November 21st 2008]

Monarch Airlines which operates flights to holiday sun destinations in Spain, Portugal and Cyprus says that holiday bookings for Summer 2009 are up 43%.

“Year-on-year comparisons show that bookings for Summer 2009 are currently 43% higher than they were last November, which indicates that people are being more organised this year and booking their summer holidays much earlier than they have previously to take advantage of the low fares currently available in the market,” explains Monarch Airlines scheduled service division MD, Liz Savage.

“Destinations that are particularly buoyant for next summer are the Canary Islands, Cyprus and Malaga, all of which are popular second home markets with owners undoubtedly utilising their own properties rather than looking to spend money on holidays elsewhere,” adds Savage.

Low fares airline Monarch has also released details of an online poll which suggests that people are bucking the credit crunch and are determined to continue to spend money on things that are important to them such as holidays.

In the online poll Monarch asked ‘Has the credit crunch affected your flying habits?’ Of the 1,104 respondents, 36% stated that the credit crunch was having no affect on their flying habits, whilst a further 41% stated that they were still flying the same, but looking to spend less.

“This means a staggering 77% of all responders are determined not to reduce the number of times they fly as a result of the credit crunch,” the airline concludes in a press statement.

“The results of our recent online survey are contradictory to the current situation in the economy, however not really surprising when looking at the recent bookings patterns for Monarch’s scheduled flights,” comments Savage.

Monarch operates scheduled flights from Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham and Manchester airports to Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal and Cyprus. The airline says that passengers travelling on scheduled flights can avoid queues at the airport and take advantage of online check in which is available between seven days and four and a half hours prior to departure.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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