A girl uses an umbrella to guard herself from the sun as she passes past the Colosseum during an intensely hot day in Rome, Italy, on July 11, 2024.
Riccardo De Luca | Anadolu | Getty Images
Summer trips to Europe are getting too hot for hundreds of tourists.
Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein said travelers are opting out of flying to Europe through the traditional summer peak travel season. As a substitute, they’re shifting trips to cooler months, a trend that airline officials have been noticing over the past couple of years as consumers look to flee crowds and record heat of popular destinations.
“The weather in Europe in August is actually hot, and that individuals who’ve decisions after they can take their vacations are moving into let’s call it more temperate months,” Hauenstein said Thursday on an earnings call. Corporate [travel] we have not seen much change yr over yr but it surely’s continuing to shift travel to Europe particularly from July and August peak to a September and October peak.”
Summer this yr within the Northern Hemisphere was the most popular on record, based on the European Union’s climate monitor.
Airlines have been extending robust trans-Atlantic schedules through much of the autumn to cater to the shifting patterns.
“What we’re doing at United is we’re extending the season,” Patrick Quayle, United Airlines‘ senior vp of worldwide network planning and alliances, said in an interview earlier this yr.
He said the carrier opted to start some European routes in March and April this yr and can fly a few of them through late October and early November. “What we’re seeing is, increasingly, travelers are moving into those shoulder seasons where you possibly can get a bit more value, and I feel the weather’s a bit higher,” he added.
