Budget Airlines – Summer Holiday Saviours

London Aug 1, 2012: Budget Airlines, those “jackals” of the travel industry which more often than not are damned for “penny pinching and price gouging” are now being praised by one tour operator for saving this summer’s holiday season. 

Said Laurence Hicks, Director of tour operator and holiday rentals company CLC Leisure, “In the face of a double dip recession it looks like 2012 is going to be a bumper year for holidays abroad. Much of the credit must go to the budget airlines for making sure that holidays to the popular sunshine destinations remain affordable and accessible.”

The comments come on the back of figures from Easy Jet which reported that passenger numbers increased by 10.9% to 16 million in the three months to the end of June driven by demand for holidays to the top three beach destinations of Malaga, Alicante and Faro.  Meanwhile, Ryanair’s latest figures show a fall in profits primarily due to keeping fares down while fuel prices have increased by 27 percent. 

“Budget airlines have also helped keep the lid on scheduled and charter air fares,” continued Hicks. “Sales figures across the board have confounded the doom merchants who were predicting a staycation summer.  The wet weather and favourable exchange rates have helped but what has become a bumper summer for holidays abroad would not have happened without affordable air travel.” 

CLC Leisure is the rentals division of CLC World, an international travel and leisure organisation founded in 1984. CLC Leisure has access to 11 of CLC World’s 28 mixed-use resorts worldwide - in England, Scotland, Austria, mainland Spain, Tenerife, Turkey and the USA.  CLC World manages 250,000 holidays per annum.

Ian Rumgay/Jane Owen
CLC Leisure PR
jane@saxondene.com; 01732-760451, 07747036050

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