Latest news with #transatlantic
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Airfares to the US are now the cheapest in years – but people aren't buying
Transatlantic airfares from Europe to the United States have plummeted to pre-pandemic levels, driven by a significant downturn in travel from Western European nations. Preliminary figures indicate a 2.8 per cent drop in overall overseas arrivals to the US in May, largely due to a 4.4 per cent decrease in travel from Western Europe. The decline is attributed to factors such as a stronger dollar and a political climate that has led Europeans to reconsider travel to the US. Airlines including Air France KLM and Lufthansa anticipate weaker demand in the third quarter and are cutting prices to maintain full cabins on transatlantic routes. Increased demand from US travellers flying to Europe is helping to offset the decline in European travel to the US. Transatlantic airfares slump as Europeans continue to shun travel to America
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Transatlantic airfares slump as Europeans continue to shun travel to America
Airfares for transatlantic flights from Europe to the United States have plummeted to levels not seen since before the pandemic, driven by a significant downturn in travel from Western European nations. This shift marks a notable pullback in tourism to the US, a trend expected to continue. Preliminary figures from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, reveal a 2.8 per cent drop in overall overseas arrivals to the U.S. in May compared to the previous year. The decline is largely attributed to a 4.4 per cent decrease in travel from Western Europe during the same period, although Eastern European travel saw a modest rise of 4.6 per cent. The trend is expected to persist, with analytics firm OAG Aviation indicating that forward bookings for July show a 13 per cent year-on-year reduction in total inbound travel to the U.S., suggesting sustained declines are on the horizon. Transatlantic airfare has been declining since the first quarter when Europeans started reconsidering travel to the U.S. after President Donald Trump suggested annexing Greenland, launched a global trade war, and issued orders that focus on stricter border policy. A stronger dollar has also deterred some trips. In March, travel from Western Europe fell 17% year-over-year, according to the NTTO. Average round-trip economy airfares for over 50 routes from the U.S. to Europe in the first quarter were down an average of 7% year-over-year, with rates to fly between Atlanta, Georgia, and London, down 55%, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm. As American consumers have been bargain-hunting and waiting closer to their departure dates to finalize travel plans, the decline in demand from Europe is another factor contributing to cheaper travel. "Fewer seats filled by European travelers to the U.S., and a slower pace of growth in U.S. outbound to Europe than last year, will tend to cast 2025 as a tougher year to make money on transatlantic routes," said Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics, a subsidiary of Oxford Economics. This summer, the price of round-trip tickets from the U.S. to Europe is down 10% compared with a year ago, travel booking app Hopper said. Average fares of $817 per ticket are in line with prices to Europe in the summer of 2019 before the pandemic. Major carriers, including Air France KLM and Germany-based Lufthansa, expect slowing activity. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said the company expects weaker demand in the third quarter, while Air France KLM CEO Ben Smith said the company is seeing a "slight pullback" in transatlantic traffic and will slash prices to keep cabins on its transatlantic flights full. Airlines including Lufthansa and U.S. air carrier United Airlines say higher demand from U.S. travelers flying to Europe is offsetting the decline of Europeans flying the opposite direction. United said international bookings from Europe fell 6% in the first quarter, but added that U.S.-originating demand made up for the pullback. Rival Delta Air Lines said 80% of its long-haul international demand originates from the U.S., and fares in the region are "significantly higher" than in the rest of the world. Lufthansa said it plans to market its transatlantic flights to more Americans given the higher demand, despite travel from Western Europe showing moments of recovery. Travel from the region to the U.S. increased 12.1% in April before falling again in May, according to data from the NTTO. As of mid-May, there are 4.3% more international flights scheduled to depart from U.S. airports for international destinations this summer, said Hopper.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Rheinmetall, Anduril Team Up to Jointly Produce Defense Systems for Europe
Germany's Rheinmetall RHM -1.79%decrease; red down pointing triangle and U.S. startup Anduril Industries are teaming up to jointly develop and produce defense systems for Europe, the latest trans-Atlantic partnership to emerge as the continent seeks to ramp up spending on its security. The partnership will start with the development of European variants of Anduril's Barracuda missiles and Fury autonomous air vehicle into Rheinmetall´s digital sovereignty framework, the companies said Wednesday.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Transatlantic airfares slump as Western Europeans skip US travel
By Doyinsola Oladipo and Joanna Plucinska NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Airfares from Europe to the United States have dropped to rates not seen since before the pandemic, as travelers from Western Europe lead a pullback in travel to the U.S. that is expected to continue through at least July. Overseas arrivals to the United States fell 2.8% in May from a year ago, according to preliminary data from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Travel from Western Europe fell 4.4% in May although travel from Eastern Europe rose 4.6% in the same period. Forward bookings suggest sustained declines are on the horizon, with total inbound bookings to the U.S. in July down 13% year-over-year, according to OAG Aviation, an analytics firm. Transatlantic airfare has been declining since the first quarter when Europeans started reconsidering travel to the U.S. after President Donald Trump suggested annexing Greenland, launched a global trade war, and issued orders that focus on stricter border policy. A stronger dollar has also deterred some trips. In March, travel from Western Europe fell 17% year-over-year, according to the NTTO. Average round-trip economy airfares for over 50 routes from the U.S. to Europe in the first quarter were down an average of 7% year-over-year, with rates to fly between Atlanta, Georgia, and London, down 55%, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm. As American consumers have been bargain-hunting and waiting closer to their departure dates to finalize travel plans, the decline in demand from Europe is another factor contributing to cheaper travel. "Fewer seats filled by European travelers to the U.S., and a slower pace of growth in U.S. outbound to Europe than last year, will tend to cast 2025 as a tougher year to make money on transatlantic routes," said Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics, a subsidiary of Oxford Economics. This summer, the price of round-trip tickets from the U.S. to Europe is down 10% compared with a year ago, travel booking app Hopper said. Average fares of $817 per ticket are in line with prices to Europe in the summer of 2019 before the pandemic. Major carriers, including Air France KLM and Germany-based Lufthansa, expect slowing activity. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said the company expects weaker demand in the third quarter, while Air France KLM CEO Ben Smith said the company is seeing a "slight pullback" in transatlantic traffic and will slash prices to keep cabins on its transatlantic flights full. Airlines including Lufthansa and U.S. air carrier United Airlines say higher demand from U.S. travelers flying to Europe is offsetting the decline of Europeans flying the opposite direction. United said international bookings from Europe fell 6% in the first quarter, but added that U.S.-originating demand made up for the pullback. Rival Delta Air Lines said 80% of its long-haul international demand originates from the U.S., and fares in the region are "significantly higher" than in the rest of the world. Lufthansa said it plans to market its transatlantic flights to more Americans given the higher demand, despite travel from Western Europe showing moments of recovery. Travel from the region to the U.S. increased 12.1% in April before falling again in May, according to data from the NTTO. As of mid-May, there are 4.3% more international flights scheduled to depart from U.S. airports for international destinations this summer, said Hopper. "We feel really good about the transatlantic market," American Airlines CFO Devon May said at a Wolfe Research transportation and industrials conference in May. Sign in to access your portfolio
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Trump abandons historic UK-US trade deal just as it's agreed
Donald Trump accidentally dropped the historic US-UK trade deal while announcing it had officially been signed after holding crunch talks with Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit. The US President left the Prime Minister scrambling to round-up the crucial papers as the two leaders attempted to put on a united front and show the world the transatlantic deal was 'done'. But as Trump attempted to open a black folder with the signed agreement inside, several papers spilled out on to the floor, prompting Starmer to quickly bend down and intervene. 'Oops sorry about that,' the president said, before Starmer tried to brush off the gaffe by quipping: 'It's a very important document.' Stood alongside Starmer, the US President then said 'We signed it and it's done', before mistakenly announcing the deal was with the European Union , rather than the UK. He added: 'It's a fair deal for both. It'll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.' The Prime Minister said the completed deal 'implements on car tariffs and aerospace', and described the agreement as a 'sign of strength' between Britain and America, with Trump saying it's 'fair' for both nations. He said: 'Donald, thank you very much. This now implements on car tariffs and aerospace. A really important agreement. And so this is a very good day for both of our countries, a real sign of strength.' Starmer said the proclamation would implement agreements reached on automotive tariffs and aerospace, without providing any details. Under the terms of the deal, first announced in the White House in early May, UK carmakers will be hit by a 10 per cent rate when selling vehicles to the US rather than 25. In return, Britain is lifting tariffs on American companies' shipments of products such as beef and ethanol. The Department for Business and Trade also said the US has committed to removing tariffs on UK aerospace goods such as engines and aircraft parts. However, there was a signal from Trump that agreement about tariffs on British steel exports to the US could take longer to finalise. Asked if steel tariffs would be set to 0 per cent for the UK, the US President replied: 'We're gonna let you have that information in little while.' In recent months, the UK has held a series of engagements aimed at securing a reduction in the tariffs Mr Trump imposed on Britain and the rest of the world on April 2. Along with 10 per cent tariffs on all British goods, the president imposed 25 per cent levies on cars and steel. He later increased the tariff on steel to 50 per cent, but gave the UK a reprieve, keeping its rate at 25 per cent until at least July 9. Under the broad terms of last month's agreement, the US will implement quotas that will effectively eliminate the tariff on British steel and reduce the tariff on UK vehicles to 10 per cent. But it did not immediately take effect, leaving British businesses uncertain about whether the UK could be exposed to any surprise hikes from Trump. When asked, Trump did say that the UK was 'very well protected' when questioned over whether Britain would be protected from any future tariffs. Asked whether he could guarantee the country would be protected from any further levies, the US president said: 'The UK is very well protected, you know why? Because I like them.' Trump added that Starmer had done 'what other people haven't been able to do' in securing a deal with the US, saying their relationship with Britain was 'just fantastic'. The US president told reporters: 'The Prime Minister's done a great job, I want to just tell that to the people of the United Kingdom. 'He's done what other people. They've been talking about this deal for six years. and he's done what they haven't been able to do.' Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'We agreed this deal with the US to ensure jobs and livelihoods in some of our most vital sectors were protected, and since then we have been focused on delivering those benefits to businesses.' 'Bringing trade deals into force can take several months, yet we are delivering on the first set of agreements in a matter of weeks. And we won't stop there.' Before their one-on-one talks, Sir Keir found himself sat next to Mr Trump during a working session at his first G7 summit as Prime Minister.
