Concerns about the omicron variant have not dampened the desire to travel before Christmas, according to airlines and tour operators. ”It is relatively unaffected,” says Freja Annamatz, press manager at SAS.
At the same time, cancellations are being noted for, for example, British destinations.
Both Norwegian and SAS have seen demand for air travel increase during the fall. And no concerns about the omicron variant of the coronavirus have yet been seen in the booking systems.
”"We haven't seen any cancellations when it comes to Christmas travel," says Freja Annamatz.
Demand for domestic travel, especially to northern Sweden, remains high. International flights to southern Europe are also doing well, she says.
”There are a lot of bookings, especially during Christmas,” says Freja Annamatz.
Even at Norwegian, customers seem to be sticking to their original travel plans this Christmas, writes the airline's communications director Grete Roald in an email to TT.
Destinations to the coasts of Spain and the Canary Islands are still popular.
”"We have good sales in December, even though we see that some people choose to move on the big city trip," writes Grete Roald.
Tour operators Ving and Apollo also report a low number of cancellations, but that many are asking about what applies now that the trip is approaching.
”"More than 90 percent of our travelers will be going to the Canary Islands. The infection situation and vaccination rate in Spain are generally at a fairly favorable level," says Ving's communications manager Claes Pellvik.
Sandra Miller Kinge, communications manager at Apollo, has a similar picture of the situation.
”"There are no cancellations to any great extent. I think this may partly be because the destinations we travel to are relatively safe – it's Spain and Dubai with elements of the Maldives and Mauritius. The Canary Islands are one of the most popular destinations," she says.
Cancellations have increased for some destinations that have recently introduced stricter restrictions.
”"This is especially true for countries where some form of quarantine requirement has been introduced, such as the UK," says Freja Annamatz at SAS.
On Tuesday, England introduced stricter entry requirements due to the omicron variant. Fully vaccinated travelers must pre-book a PCR test upon arrival and self-isolate until a negative test result is confirmed.
Both SAS and Norwegian offer flexible tickets that can be rebooked some time before the trip.
”There is a demand for flexibility among customers. This is something we have seen throughout the pandemic, which is natural as travel recommendations have changed at short notice.”.
Claes Pellvik at Ving says that the company has noticed a decrease in demand after the Christmas break.
”"I'll be honest and say that we see a slowdown in new bookings in the latter part of the winter, in January, February and March. We see that," he says.
Apollo has also noted a reduced number of bookings before and after Christmas, which Sandra Miller Kinge believes is related to the fact that a large part of the population was not fully vaccinated when many of those trips are usually booked.
”We will have a financial loss both a little before Christmas and a little after the Christmas holidays,” she says.
Source: TT
