New figures reveal that airports run by BAA, such as Heathrow, saw a rise in the number of travellers that passed through its gates in April.

Its six hubs handled nearly 9.09 million people overall last month, which is a 0.1% increase compared to the same month last year, according to the Spanish-owned operator.

Heathrow saw a slight jump in the volume of passengers in contrast with figures recorded in April 2011 – totalling 5.8 million travellers. But data found 2.7% fewer people travelled through Stansted Airport last month when compared with the same month last year, and Southampton also recorded a 3.1% decline.

Findings showed that European charter traffic, including North African charter flights, tumbled 6.5% in April, while the number of passengers who flew towards a North Atlantic destination decreased by 0.9%.

“These are encouraging figures for Heathrow and BAA’s other airports. However, the modest growth in passenger numbers at Heathrow, the UK’s only hub airport, comes from larger and fuller aircraft, not from more routes and frequencies to emerging markets. This lack of connectivity is damaging the UK economy,” said Colin Matthews, BAA chief executive.

Figures also dipped for Gatwick airport, which used to be owned by BAA, as it saw a total of 2.72 million travellers in April. The number is a 1.3% drop in comparison to 2011’s April figure. It is now run by Global Infrastructure Partnerships, which is expected to acquire BAA-owned Edinburgh airport.

Copyright Press Association 2012

Travel firms selling cruise liner tickets are slashing prices in an effort to bolster plunging sales, according to new reports.

Although UK cruise companies have been particularly badly hit, experts have pointed out that the interlinked nature of the industry has seen firms across Europe suffer from falling sales figures.

The crisis means travellers can head from UK airports such as Stansted and Gatwick to embark on a cruise around some of the most beautiful parts of the world for a fraction of the normal cost.

“The cruise market is weak because it is trans-European,” said Bob Atkinson of TravelSupermarket.

“If bookings are poor in Spain, Italy and France then the cruise lines aren’t getting the numbers they need to fill cruises, that means more go on sale in Britain.

“Book at short notice and you’ll probably get a great price, with cruise lines also chucking in free flights and on-board spending. Royal Caribbean voyages from Southampton start at £699 and can include $100 of onboard credit. It’s effectively a discount of 20-30%.”

Mr Atkinson went on to point out that the trends affecting the cruise industry could also be indicative of the travel sector as a whole, with people “hedging their bets and spending cautiously”.

The cruise industry has hit the headlines in recent months, after two liners from the same company ran into serious problems at sea. Most recently the Costa Allegra caught fire near the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, while the Costa Concordia vessel ran aground and capsized, killing at least 25 people. Both ships were operated by Costa Cruises.

Around six million Britons are set to jet off on holiday around the Queen’s Jubilee Bank Holiday at the beginning of June.

The figure from the Association of British Travel Agents suggests that a host of people are taking advantage of the extra day off, which means that most people only need to take three days off work to have a consecutive nine-day break.

There is reported to have been a 50% year-on-year increase in bookings and searches for the week of the Jubilee, and UK travel website lowcostholidays insists that “unreliable and miserable British weather” is a major contributing factor.

Schools are also on holiday during that week and Greece in particular is providing a huge number of bargains, with managing director of Jewel in the Crown Holidays, Platon Loizou, confirming that many operators have lots of packages left to sell.

“After all the demonstrations, they can’t shift holidays for love nor money; seven nights with accommodation on Zante and Corfu start at £129, flight-onlys from £125,” he said.

There are even “buy one, get one free” offers available and Olympic Holidays are trying to encourage people to travel to the Greek Islands and Cyprus with better than half-price packages from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast and Glasgow.

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An environmentally friendly Boeing jet has been given the once over by representatives from airlines that have placed an order for their own models.

The “green” 787 Dreamliner has been shown off at Heathrow Airport, with Thomson Airways, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic sending reps in to check out the plane before they add them to the fleets.

The new craft will be added by the airlines over the coming months, meaning that holidaymakers can worry less about the environmental impact of their flights. However, there are still many things to arrange before jetting off, and sorting out airport transfers in advance is one less thing to fret over.

The Heathrow visit was the first UK stop on a global tour for the new Boeing plane, which began carrying passengers late last year. It will also make appearances at Gatwick and Manchester.

Both Thomson and British Airways take delivery of the new planes next year, meaning holidaymakers flying via the airlines can look forward to a green journey.

Chris Browne, managing director of Thomson Airways, said: “As the UK’s third largest airline, it is a major coup for Thomson Airways to be the first UK airline to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

“We will be flying the aircraft in our summer 2013 programme from four UK airports – giving holidaymakers from across the country the chance to travel on this amazing new aircraft.”

Heathrow Airport could operate more night-time flights in future, in conjunction with the UAE based airline company Emirates Airline.

The airline proposes to use their quieter Airbus A380s for overnight operations, which would increase the capacity of the airport and give customers more choice of when they’d like to fly.

The super jumbo airplane fleet may lessen noise pollution close to the airport, as it is capable of a steeper landing descent than other airplanes.

Emirates is planning its new aircraft schedules as part of its plan to increase co-operation with the UK Government.

A review of the UK’s government aviation policy is due to start taking initial responses in the summer.

Presently, Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport conduct significantly more flights per night, at 50 and 32 respectively, compared to the 15 which Heathrow is authorised to fly during the summer season, which commences in April and runs until October.

Emirates Airline is also proposing to fly seven rather than five flights to Dubai, UAE and to increase its operating hours out of the airport.

The noise regulations for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports were all set to expire in October 2012, but have recently been extended to expire in October 2014.

Earlier, UK aviation minister, Theresa Villiers, said in a statement:”As a first step to replace the current regime in 2014, we will launch a first-stage consultation later this year which will seek detailed evidence of the effectiveness of the current regime including costs and benefits and airlines’ fleet replacement plans.”

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TUI Travel, the owner of Thomson Holidays, has revealed its summer bookings have improved, fairing considerably better that its main competitor, Thomas Cook.

The company, Europe’s largest tour operator, revealed that overall trading was in line with expectations, with bookings as of March 25 down 6%, compared with a 7% decline published two months earlier. Winter bookings are currently 90% full – an improvement on last year’s performance.

TUI went on to reveal that almost half of its summer programme was booked, while the average selling price was up around 8%. Its performance continues to outperform the market and it continues to make gains on Thomas Cook.

Its improved performance was driven by demand for holidays exclusively available through TUI, but disappointing sales of holidays in North Africa, where the Arab Spring hit tourism hard, has affected the company’s overall performance.

Thomas Cook went on a publicity offensive when it encountered financial difficulties last year, with adverts in national newspapers reassuring customers that it was safe to book holidays despite fears of its collapse.

TUI, which offers holidays departing from a number of airports in the UK, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, wasted little time in seeking to capitalise on its rival’s misfortune by taking out its own advertisements, which said: “Another holiday company may be experiencing turbulence, but we are in really great shape.”

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About half of British tourists like to visit churches while on holiday, but a much smaller proportion of these people do the same when they are at home.

A survey by Direct Line revealed that 49% attended churches and other places of worship when they are abroad, but 26% said they never visited a church when they were back in the UK and 25% had only done so on rare occasions.

Around 15% of the 2012 adults quizzed by the insurance company revealed they had been on a religious pilgrimage, a spiritual holiday or visited a holiday destination primarily for religious reasons.

Holidaymakers from London, possibly departing from locations such as Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted; Scotland and Northern Ireland are most likely to visit a religious attraction while on holiday, compared to those in the North West, the East and Yorkshire, all of whom would rather go on a beach holiday.

This study potentially puts paid to the notion that all Britons are interested in when they go on holiday is sunshine and sandy beaches.

Tom Bishop, head of travel insurance at Direct Line, said: “This research suggests that a large number of British tourists want to experience something other than sun, sand and a hangover from their holidays.”

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The number of bookings made to tourist hotspots in the West have increased and overtaken bookings made to the East, new data reveal.

According to a report by holiday company Hayes & Jarvis, the number of flights from the UK’s major airports, such as Stansted, Luton or Gatwick, to destinations in the West have risen.

The study found that holidaymakers are choosing places such as Mexico and the West Indies over some of the renowned tourist destinations in the East. The firm named St Lucia, Las Vegas and the Dominican Republic as some of the destinations which have risen in popularity among travellers this year.

Figures show that bookings made for the Dominican Republic have risen 800%, while Mexico is up 143%. Cuba and St Lucia have also enjoyed a rise in booking numbers as statistics reveal a rise of 66% and 55% respectively. In comparison, holiday bookings to Kenya have fallen 58%, while Egypt is down 22%, an overall fall on levels last year.

Niel Alobaidi, commercial director at Hayes & Jarvis, said: “We have seen massive year-on-year growth in bookings heading west to the USA, Caribbean or Latin America, clearly highlighting the importance of value in driving customer demand.

“Much of this has come about because of the competitive pricing of luxury all-inclusive packages, which are perceived as a bargain.”

Currently, Mexico is at the top of the leader board in Hayes & Jarvis’s top 10 destinations for 2012, while Khao Lak in Thailand trails behind at tenth.

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Slovenian airline Adria Airways will stop flying from Gatwick and begin to depart from Luton Airport in April, it has been announced.

Four of the firm’s Airbus A319 flights will leave Luton Airport every week, bound for Ljubljana.

During a launch at Luton Airport, the airline’s director of corporate communications, Alen Mlekuz, said the Luton move had let the firm offer extra capacity with larger carriers.

He added that it would therefore become easier to make group bookings.

“Gatwick had difficulty with our smaller aircraft and we could not compete with low-cost fares,” the director said.

“The market in Slovenia is tough with the surrounding airports but we are confident at the end of summer we can say this is a success and perhaps extend frequencies”.

He dropped hints that Adria may soon begin to depart from Manchester.

The airline’s announcement is good for Luton Airport, as Adria is a Star Alliance member.

Slovenian Tourist Board’s head of UK and Republic of Ireland communications, Tine Murn, has confidence in Luton’s leisure position, even though it has a reputation for serving business passengers.

Murn said: “Some leisure partners questioned our move to Luton but after meeting with the airport we are confident and have to challenge and route and tourism.

“We have a fresh new start with this route and people forget that Luton is as far from London as Gatwick is.”

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Britons are known for their love of tea, and it seems we’re reluctant to go even a week without a good brew, as we’re stuffing our beloved tea bags into our luggage when we jet overseas.

According to holiday rental firm CLC Leisure, we feel tea bags abroad “just don’t taste the same”, and so our Yorkshire Tea, Tetleys or PG Tips are “part of essential packing.”

Baggage restrictions at all airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted prevent us from taking hoards of groceries abroad, prompting us to turn to local ingredients on self-catering trips abroad, the research found.

The three main meals prepared by Britons on holiday abroad were pasta, salads and grills/barbecues.

CLC Leisure director Laurence Hicks said: “Baggage restrictions and charges, combined with the availability of British brands, often at lower prices, have largely ended the eccentric practice of holidaymakers taking suitcases packed with groceries when they go abroad.

“The exception is teabags, which are widely available abroad but which many people say just don’t taste the same and are still part of essential packing.”

He added: “At one time the thought of having to cook meals on holiday abroad was a big turn-off but now a modern, well-equipped kitchen is a key requirement.

“The British beans-on-toast brigade still exist but their numbers are fast dwindling. Instead we find that an increasing number of holidaymakers want to prepare and eat more complex meals.”

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