Flyers Snap Up Long-Haul Trips After U.K. Eases Covid Rules

(Bloomberg) -- British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and TUI AG reported surging interest in long-haul travel after Britain last week scaled back coronavirus testing requirements that had acted as a barrier to sales.

Package-holiday giant TUI said bookings soared almost immediately on the policy change. British Airways Holidays, meanwhile, saw searches jump nearly 40% compared with the final week of 2021, with New York, Dubai and Barbados the most sought-out locations and beach resorts generally leading the way.

At Virgin, searches increased 150% Thursday, the day after the U.K. announcement, from a week earlier, with New York and Barbados again among leading destinations alongside Orlando, Florida. Topping the list was London Heathrow, suggesting pent-up demand for inbound visitors -- some of them likely to be traveling on business.

The pickup in activity is a positive sign for sales in coming months, and gives a much needed boost to airlines focused on the long-distance journeys hardest hit by the travel downturn. Flight-search specialist Skyscanner said Britons are also booking further ahead as confidence returns, with a fifth of reservations now coming between one and two months in advance, up from just 9% last year.

‘Strong Uptick’

The requirement for vaccinated arrivals to take a coronavirus test before boarding a flight into England was dropped effective last Friday. A lateral-flow test must still be taken within two days of entering the country, but the requirement for a more-costly PCR assessment has also been eliminated.

TUI’s U.K. arm has seen “an immediate and strong uptick in bookings,” it said, led by a near-tripling of winter-break sales. Mexico and the Dominican Republic are leading the way, followed by the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Egypt.

“There’s no doubt the positive travel changes have given Brits the reassurance that travel will once again be easier and more affordable,” TUI said in a statement, adding that though demand has yet to reach pre-Covid levels, it expects bookings for the coming summer to be “normalized.” 

Package holidays are proving most popular in what is traditionally the busiest month for leisure bookings in the U.K., since they have additional consumer protection compared with flight-only reservations, a spokeswoman said. The Canaries and Mexico are seeing the biggest spikes for summer, TUI said.

Skyscanner said U.K. booking activity is now close to two-thirds of 2019 levels, though there are big variations between markets and the Asia-Pacific in particular remains largely closed off.

Shares of BA parent IAG SA closed 1.1% higher, while TUI added 0.9%. Luton, England-based EasyJet Plc, which offers discounted short-haul flights, advanced 1.9%.

Read: Omicron Dogs Airlines as Travel Recovery Remains Elusive

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.