8 Air Travel Trends to Watch For

1. Low cost
Discount carriers are finding that they have to compete on more than just price as customers are demanding higher levels of comfort and entertainment. This has led to emergence of a new tyoe of customer: the ‘discount diva’ — a customer who has sophisticated tastes in relation to airport and in-flight services, but expects bargain basement prices too. An example of this is Virgin Blue in Australia (a low cost airline) which offers low cost travellers access to exclusive Blue Room pay as you go airline lounges.

2. The death of distance
People are getting used to going further. What was once exotic is now considered ordinary, which means that travellers are constantly seeking out new and further flung destinations like Latin America and Asia. Part of the reason for this is the growth of low cost carriers pushing routes further out. US carriers like Jet Blue, Spirit and AirTran are all adding destinations like Jamaica, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic to their schedules. It’s also got something to do with people having more money to spend and airlines making the experience more comfortable. One could even argue that it’s to do with security post 9/11. If you’ve got to get to an airport 2 or 3 hours before your flight you might as well make the journey worthwhile by going somewhere far away. You could even argue that it’s down to the Internet, which has given ordinary travellers access to new information and low prices.

3. Luxury travel
As low cost services spread across the world, so too does the appeal of the opposite: high-cost, high touch exclusivity and personal pampering. For some, low cost fares leave extra cash to splash out on expensive hotels, while for others business and first class cabins are the new hotels. And, of course, the more travellers get used to luxury, the more of it they want, which leaves them with something of a dilemma. How to set yourself apart from everyone else when almost everyone else seems to have exactly the same idea?

4. Planned spontaneity
Travellers are taking advantage of the plethora of no-frills airlines (booked at the last moment) and last-minute/find-and-seek websites to increasingly act on a whim. Thus making spontaneous decisions to go somewhere is becoming the norm, especially for the Internet generation who do everything at Internet speed.

5. Grey geese and other flocks
Backbackers do it. Families with children do it. And couples aged 60+ do it. People of similar ages are increasingly moving around and doing the same things in flocks. The exception is young childless couples who want to do their own thing, by themselves.

6. Do it yourself
Book your own flight, check yourself in, scan your i.d. Airlines and airports can't be bothered.

7. Experiental travel
According to the World Tourism Organisation, cultural holidays are the fastest growing sector of the tourism market. This segment includes everything from backpackers looking for ‘real’ experiences half way up the Amazon, to flocks of retirees booking cultural tours through SAGA or the British Museum. As a result towns and cities are increasingly marketing themselves using whatever nature and history have given them. This dovetails with an increased interest in unusual but ‘safe’ destinations. Examples would include former Soviet bloc countries such as Bulgaria and Balkan countries, especially Croatia. Another emerging segment that is part of this cultural voyeurism is what’s been called religious tourism.

8. Growth in numbers
According to the World Tourism Organisation, there will be 1,500,000,000 airline trips made by the year 2020. That’s a lot of airmiles. Of course, a big rise in fuel prices could put an end to this since nobody has yet discovered a serious alternative for jet fuel. Equally, another outbreak of SARS or another big 9/11 style attack could also move the numbers in the opposite direction.