UK Airline Passenger Numbers Make Very Grim Reading

 

Following a reduction in the overall passenger numbers of 7.2 % for 2008 the UK recorded a further fall of 8.5 % for 2009 with a year on year decrease of 17 million passengers which is the worst for 65 years. This is the biggest fall in passenger numbers since the Second World War and no doubt prompted many airlines such as BA and Iberia to announce a merger to reduce operating costs.

This is the first time that the UK has witnessed a reduction for two consecutive years and ably demonstrates the depth of the recession. Total passengers numbers have reduced to the same level of those achieved in 2004. The travel industry along with property are always the hardest hit sectors in the UK whenever a downturn arises, because these are the two big spend areas that the family purse can reign in quickly without affecting normal day to day expenditure on the basics of life.

Economists often look to the movements in travel expenditure as a fair indicator of the start and finish of a recession and whilst the last quarter to December 2009 still showed a fall, the reduction was around the 3% mark. The first quarter results are still awaited but BAA owners of Heathrow, Edinburgh, Stansted, Glasgow and Aberdeen are a good barometer of the overall performance for the UK reported a drop of 1.5% for March following on from the 2.4% increase in February.

However, when the British Airways cabin crew strike is taken into account BAA estimate there would have been an increase of 1%. Heathrow which was hardest hit by the strike still showed a slight increase and it is clearly the regional airports that are struggling with Stansted down 4.2% and the Scottish airports seeing a 5.8% reduction.

A large proportion of Heathrow traffic is business related and the increases seen at this airport is encouraging and backed up by the massive increase of 27.7% in cargo movements. The low pound is clearly helping importers but restraining holiday traffic. These are colossal numbers with 17 million less travelling in 2009 and 15.5 million in 2008 when you take the the two together 32.5 million customers out of the revenue pot it is not just the airlines and airport operators who are feeling the pain.

Airport retailers, airport hotels and off airport car park operators are having a hard time. From an airport parking prospective taking an average weekly parking price of GBP 35 this amounts to a fall in sales of GBP595 million if they had all chosen to travel to the airport by car. Whilst this will not of course be the case it ably demonstrates the fall in income.

Amidst all these grim figures, there is the BA cabin crew strike to contend with that certainly looks ill timed and inappropriate against a background of rising unemployment elsewhere in the UK.

 

The author has been providing airport parking and airport hotel parking online since 1998 under the flagship brand Flypark. If you are looking for a wide choice of Manchester Airport Parkingor Gatwick Airport Parking or always use a comparison site but only use car parks approved by the Park Mark Safer Parking Scheme. Many holidaymakers travelling a long distance to one of the London airports now reserve a Hotel with Parking at Heathrow airport as one package.

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