Spanish airlines are expecting a record summer season and are adding 13 percent more seats than a year ago, confident that consumers will continue to travel despite inflation squeezing their spending, the head of Spain’s aviation industry group said on Tuesday.
From the beginning of April to the end of October, the group has planned up to 758,000 flights, 9 percent more than in the same period in 2023, with a total capacity of up to 240 million seats.
“Everything seems to indicate that we will again have record numbers in terms of demand this summer. People are traveling more than before, despite inflation tensions,” Javier Gandara, head of the Spanish Aviation Association, told a news conference.
Demand for leisure travel, which has soared since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ended, remains strong despite pressure on household incomes.
In addition, tourism industry group Exceltur estimated on Tuesday that revenue in the sector, including hotels and transport companies, will rise 6 percent in the second quarter from record levels of a year ago, after a strong start to 2024.
“We are concerned about how to manage this growing flow of tourists,” said Exceltur vice-president Jose Luis Zoreda, who supported more regulations to curb the proliferation of holiday homes, as proposed by the Canary Islands, to to prevent negative impact on the economy. local community.
Gandara said airlines to the Canary Islands and the southern region of Andalusia, which are among Spain’s top summer tourism destinations, will have 14 percent more seats, above the Spanish average, while the cities of Madrid and Barcelona will see 15 percent extra seats compared with a year ago.
Airlines are increasing the number of seats available between Spain and markets such as Germany and Great Britain.
Gandara pointed out that the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on the Spanish aviation sector is limited, as only 0.2 percent of flights departing from Spain have Israel as their destination. Regarding possible oil price increases due to geopolitical tensions, he said most airlines guarantee minimum fuel consumption at a certain price, so any crude oil price fluctuations are likely to have a limited impact.
