THE GREEN LIGHT TO UP YOUR AIR FARES
Carriers hike prices to holiday hotspots but industry demands more
BUDGET airline Ryanair has told customers they now have ‘the green light to fly’ as they hike prices to holiday hotspots on the Government’s new green list.
While the Government advice remains to avoid non-essential travel, Ryanair is encouraging people to snap up deals to destinations to which it has been deemed safe to travel.
In a notification sent out to customers last night the airline said: ‘You’ve got the green light to fly. Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and more are all on the Green List. Fly from €29.99.’
It comes as prices for green list holiday hotspots like Malta, Greece Italy and Hungary all rocketed in price overnight.
Return flights from Dublin to Malta in August surged by €250 in the space of a few hours after the Government announcement on Tuesday night.
The Irish Daily Mail documented the price of return flights from Dublin to six destinations in August before and after the Government’s green list was announced. By far, the biggest price hike was for Malta.
A return flight to the Mediterranean island for the week ending August 8 surged from €177 to €320 overnight – a difference of €143.
The cost of the flight for a family of five, two adults, and three children was €885 on Tuesday evening before the green list was published later that night.
The following day the price had rocketed to €2,130 or €426 per person, meaning the family would have to fork out an additional €1,245 for the same flight, in the space of a few hours.
And Ryanair bookings to Greece had also increased significantly.
Return flights to Athens for one adult in August was priced at €177, but the following day this booking increased by €47 to €224.
And for a family of five, the same journey increased by more than €100 per person, totalling €1,525, which means they would have saved €520 had they booked a day earlier.
Price hikes have also been recorded for flights to Cyprus.
A return ticket to the city of Paphos for one had cost €160 on Tuesday, but is now priced at €232 – a difference of €72.
And for a family of five, the same trip would now cost them €1,470. A day earlier, Ryanair had priced this booking for €1,365 or €273 per person.
Families would be at an ever greater loss if they choose to book their holiday in Italy. If a family had booked a return flight to Rome on Tuesday for a week in August, it would have cost them €375. But the next day the price for the same flight had increased to €695 or €139 per person. This means this family would have saved €320.
Meanwhile, adults flying solo would have saved €47 if they decided to book their get-away before the green list was published.
Slovakia, another European country now deemed safe, saw return flights increase from €81 to €141 in the space of just one day.
And for a family of five now booking this flight together, Ryanair is charging €161 per person, an increase of €46. Budapest in Hungary is now seen as one of the most attractive cities for individuals and families wanting a holiday abroad this summer.
However, like every other country in the green list documented by the Mail, Ryanair had increased prices to this destination almost immediately after it was announced.
On Tuesday, an adult booking a flight to and from Budapest from Dublin in August would have paid €104. This same booking has now increased to €161.
A family of five people wanting to get on this flight would need to fork out €910, but if they had booked a day in advance, they would have saved €145 as tickets were just €153 per person.
Paul Hackett, co-founder and CEO of travel website Click&Go, told the Irish Daily Mail that he’s seen a significant increase in traffic to his site since the green list was published.
‘The most searched destinations we had by far today were Malta, Greece and Cyprus, which isn’t surprising,’ he told the Mail.
Travel agency Sunway Holidays, has also said there is ‘pent up demand’ for holidays in their call centre.
CEO Mary Denton said she has seen a recent spike in people seeking holidays abroad now that the green list has been published.
‘There is a pent-up demand for holidays which we are seeing at our call centre. Sunway is open for business to fulfil this demand and we are delighted to be booking holidays instead of cancelling them,’ she told the Mail.
‘Customers are buoyed by the fact that they don’t have to selfisolate – on returning into Ireland from these countries you can act as if you were just returning from a staycation in this country. Malta and Cyprus were the main interests for Irish people.’
She also called for more countries to be added to the green list. ‘We hope the Government will add more like the Canary Islands as they have had very few Covid cases over the past fortnight,’ she added.
Click&Go’s Paul Hackett said the travel industry is now urging the Government to open the list to specific regions as opposed entire countries.
‘Our industry is still deeply unsatisfied with the lack of logic and sense behind this list.
‘The Canary Islands, Costa del Sol and the Algarve had practically no cases of Covid-19, and yet they’re not included.
‘These destinations have R levels that are much lower than Ireland so why can’t the Government give the go-ahead to these places too?’
Mr Hackett, who is also a member of the Irish Travel Agents Association, said a perceived lack of reasoning at Government level has put the future of the travel
‘Hope that Canaries will be added’ ‘Stop treating travel agents like idiots’
industry is in doubt. ‘The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) released a travel destination list about two weeks ago where cases had originated from abroad. On this list was Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Iran – not exactly holiday hotspots.
‘How long do the Government propose to keep us locked up?
‘Travel agents across the country are down 90% in terms of their businesses and there’s no end in sight. The Government is treating us like idiots.
‘We hope the Government will add more like the Canary Islands as they have had very few Covid cases over the past fortnight.
‘Whilst we take on board concerns of potential travellers, we are able to allay their fears in terms of looking after them in the unlikely event of a change in policy.’
In a statement yesterday, Ryanair denied that it had increased prices for flights out of Dublin, despite the Mail making numerous price comparisons on its site before and after the publication of the green list.
‘We haven’t increased prices for flights out of Dublin. We’re having a seat sale with thousands of flights available from €29.99,’ a spokesman said.
‘Since there aren’t any flights from Dublin to Monaco, San Marino, Gibraltar or Greenland, we couldn’t increase prices on these routes even if we wanted to.’