Major airline slashes price of fares by 50% in time for summer | Travel News | Travel
A major airline has halved flight prices ahead of the summer. Etihad is discounting flights from the UK in May and June to compete with Gulf airlines.
An Etihad insider told The Times: “As soon as travel picks up, we want to be back to flying planes 100% full in all cabins, as we were before the conflict. These prices will help.”
Return economy flights on Etihad from London to Sydney, via Abu Dhabi, are now on sale for just £688. This is almost a third of the cost of flying British Airways (BA) from London to Sydney, via Singapore, which is £1,850 in economy. Other cheap flights offered by Etihad include routes from the UK to the Maldives, Tokyo, and Bangkok. Return economy tickets to the Maldives with Etihad are just £581, compared to £3,380 with BA. Flights to Singapore are just £391, compared to £980 at BA.
This comes as the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to the UAE due to the ongoing conflict between the US and Israel, and Iran.
The UK Foreign Office states: “FCDO advises against all but essential travel to United Arab Emirates. Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).”
Other Gulf-based airlines, including Emirates and Qatar Airways, have not cut prices in response to the conflict, with lots of the airspace over the Middle East closed.
Due to the conflict, interest in European holiday destinations has risen among Brits. On The Beach said it had experienced a drop in demand for holiday destinations, including Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt, due to tensions.
TUI has seen increased interest in Greece, as well as Portugal and Spain, as customers look to “familiar destinations”. Neil Swanson, a director at TUI, said: “While we are seeing some cancellations in the affected areas, these are currently outweighed by customers choosing to amend their plans instead.”
Surrey-based holiday operator Kuoni has seen interest in longer-haul destinations such as the Caribbean grow, though this comes with a price increase.
