Emirates boss: Where demand for Europe is heading this winter

Emirates’ New Zealand boss says the airline has weathered growing competition between this country and Europe.

There’s been an influx of carriers flying between New Zealand and the United States, opening up more ways of flying on to Europe. And while they’ve been slow to build capacity, carriers in mainland China are also promoting cut-rate fares.

But Emirates’ regional manager Chris Lethbridge says demand for Emirates is holding up, and warns booking for a winter getaway is getting tighter.

He said that after a surge in bookings to connect friends and family last year, travel and buying patterns were normalising.

While this meant the steep increases in fares was moderating, passengers were booking further out instead of at the last minute. Flights are filling up around major events in Europe this year, including the Paris Olympics and the America’s Cup (where the airline sponsors defenders Emirates Team NZ), which runs for two months from late August in Barcelona.

“We’re seeing that business booking now for that traditional summer peak - June, July, August.”

Lead-in return economy fares to London were $2800, premium economy $4800 and business-class around $10,800.

“The earlier you book the better, so that that supply/demand scenario is not fixed yet. There’s more demand than there is supply to Europe this summer.”

There was also strong demand for seats from key inbound markets; Britain, Germany and France for later summer, which he said was a combination of holidaymakers, businesspeople and skilled workers coming into the country.

Lethbridge has headed the airline for more than 20 years in this country - during that time, the airline has carried more than 16 million passengers more than 49,000 services between Dubai and NZ. He says travel agents are sounding the same warning about booking early.

“They’re saying, ‘Don’t talk about price, talk about when to book’, because the key is getting to the place you want to go to on the day you want to go for the best price, and that’s where the value of the travel agent comes in.”

The airline pays a standard international commission to travel agents, and Lethbridge said they were valuable for their expertise in building more complex itineraries. “They provide a level of security, a level of service and solve a whole lot of issues around logistics for people who are trying to navigate their way through a long-haul journey.”

One agent, Flight Centre, says there are plenty of airline and route options to get to Europe.

“We are seeing competitive airfares compared to the last few years, though we’re still not back to what we refer to as the ‘golden era’ of travel back in 2019,” said Flight Centre Travel Group NZ managing director Victoria Courtney.

"My advice for Kiwis keen to escape the winter is to book now, or as soon as possible. As seats are filled, prices will inevitably go up."

The Flight Centre Group - whose underlying profit from its leisure business is exceeding pre-pandemic levels - says global airfares fell around 7 per cent late last year.

Courtney said with increased airline capacity flying from New Zealand via the United States, the firm had found some customers choosing to create multi-stop itineraries - for example, flying from Auckland to New York on Air New Zealand or Qantas and enjoying some time there before flying to London.

“For deal-seekers, currently the most cost-effective option to get to Europe is via China. Though keep in mind, routes via China often have a long layover, which may not suit everyone,” she said.

Lethbridge said passengers were attracted to Emirates’ A380 flights out of Auckland through to London because of convenience. They took off around 9pm from Auckland and, taking into account the 12-13 hour time difference, a passenger could be in London just after lunch the next day transiting through the large but efficient Dubai Airport.

Air New Zealand doesn’t fly to Europe itself but says it is seeing strong demand for travel with partner airlines. It has 22 interline partners and one-way fares start at $1210 plus taxes (varying depending on the stopover location). Capacity through its network, and with partners was around 95 per cent of pre-Covid levels.

Emirates didn’t rush into premium economy on its planes, but since introducing it a year ago, it had been very successful, said Lethbridge. It wasn’t a case of business-class passengers trading down, but economy passengers trading up for bigger seats, more space, a higher ratio of bathrooms and easy boarding and deplaning from the 56-seat cabin at the front of the bottom deck of the plane.

The airline’s daily services to Christchurch and Auckland New Zealand use Airbus A380s, both fitted with premium economy, which is being rolled out across much of its fleet as part of a $3.5 billion retrofitting project.

Pent-up demand pushed people up a cabin last year, but now many were ticking off bucket list destinations through the Emirates or partner flydubai’s fast-growing network into Europe.

“Last year was a really good year for people trading up, and now this year on top of that. We also have quite a lot of demand for what we call our non-core destinations.”

Emirates has orders for 65 Airbus A350s, 205 Boeing 777Xs, and 35 Boeing 787s and A380s are phased out. But the big planes - popular with passengers because of space on board, with a bar in premium cabins - will be used for the New Zealand routes for the foreseeable future, said Lethbridge.

“The A380 is perfectly suited for that ultra-long-haul. It has that full suite of products and the offer that people want.”

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.