The year of budget travel: Airline CEO weighs in on cheap flights and when to book
If there’s one thing many Canadians are looking forward to in 2024, it’s travel.
Of course, travel comes with a price, and money is top of mind for many folks looking to get away. The destination is also important– do you want to spend your money travelling to a destination close by, or are you looking for deals to foreign destinations?
Daily Hive spoke with Birgir Jónsson, CEO of low-cost Icelandic airline Play, for his insight into some of the biggest travel trends for 2024, and his thoughts on current air-travel industry practices.
“Travel is a necessity”
As post-pandemic travel continues, Jónsson said that the mindset of travellers is also changing.
“I think one of the good things for the travel industry is that our passengers realized that travel is not a luxury, it’s basically a necessity,” he told Daily Hive.
He noted that people are seeing the value of travel experiences — something that they definitely missed out on during the pandemic.
And the proof is in the numbers when it comes to just how much Canadians, in particular, want to travel.
According to SkyScanner’s 2024 Canada Travel Trends, 79% of Canadians plan to take the same number — if not more — trips abroad in 2024 compared to 2023.
And while “revenge travel” — a term used to describe a surge in travel bookings post-pandemic — has been a dominant travel trend over the past two years, Jónsson said that trend seems to be decreasing.
Instead, he said travellers are being more thoughtful about where they want to go and the experiences they want to have because they’re treating travel as an important part of their lifestyle.
“Now [travel levels] are returning back to normal, but you can see that people, they feel the value of travel… getting to travel to meet friends and relatives, and do new things. It’s not a luxury or something that is nice to have,” he explained.
The year of budget travel
Travelling doesn’t come cheap, and Jónsson acknowledged that budget-friendly trips and airfare are most likely on the minds of most travellers in 2024.
As the CEO of a budget airline, Jónsson said he has certainly noticed a trend in customers wanting to experience trips abroad while being conscious of their pocketbooks.
Currently, Play operates its only Canadian flights out of Ontario’s John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, with destinations to Europe.
Jónsson said that Play’s flights out of Hamilton have been a budget-friendly option for those in the GTA and surrounding areas to travel across the Atlantic to some of their bucket list European destinations.
“Budget travel is the way to go because we want people to spend their money at the destination,” said Jónsson.
“…We really shouldn’t spend too much money on the airline seat.”
As for one of his most budget-friendly destinations, Jónsson said Berlin is a great bang for your buck because of everything it offers.
From food and culture to history, the airline CEO said it’s a destination he recommends the most to travellers looking for an amazing experience while being conscious of costs.
When should you book?
If you’re hoping to get the best deals on 2024 flights, Jónsson said that the time to book is now.
“I would always recommend people to make their [travel] plans well in advance, like now around… Christmas and… early January. You can get some amazing deals for your summer holidays in Europe.”
There is one popular destination in particular that he sees travellers booking from Play’s current flight offerings from Hamilton.
“Paris. Everyone wants to go to Paris, for good reason. That’s really the… most popular travel destination.”
As for whether Play could be expanding its budget service in Canada, Jónsson said while the company hasn’t announced anything yet, it has applied for slots at other airports across the country.
“We hope that we get slots that suit our network, so watch this space,” he hinted.
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