Flight prices falling as airlines start promoting to fill seats

Airfares to some of the most popular destinations around the world have plummeted over the course of the past year, according to research by price comparison site Cheapflights. The company, after tracking deals on its regular newsletter it, found that flights to Paris in January 2009 were often down almost 40% in price on the…

Airfares to some of the most popular destinations around the world have plummeted over the course of the past year, according to research by price comparison site Cheapflights.


The company, after tracking deals on its regular newsletter it, found that flights to Paris in January 2009 were often down almost 40% in price on the same period last year.


A fall of almost a quarter was discovered on the Manchester to Hong Kong route between 2009 and 2008.


Although the data was taken from deals featured on its newsletter, Cheapflights said it indicated a general trend from the main site.


Similar drops have also been found for flights in February this year, with fares from Bristol to Las Vegas dropping by a quarter between 2008 and 2009, London to Dubai down 13%, and Birmingham to Auckland falling 7%.


Francesca Ecsery, general manager of Cheapflights in the UK, said: “The impact of the recession on flight and holiday prices in 2009 is already evident and means there are definitely lots of special deals and discounts on both flights and holidays that were not available last year.


“This year travel companies are offering significantly more competitive prices to various Pound stretching destinations and there are some fabulous bargains available for travellers.”