September is not the ideal time to book a flight to Europe, as prices are peaking due to the Rugby World Cup and Australia’s capacity fall.
According to an article by AFR, tickets for European destinations such as Paris, London and Rome are running low, and those that are available can be expensive, as the searches on booking sites reveal.
This means that business-class flights being more expensive, such as flying from Melbourne to Paris, departing in the middle of September, can cost more than €16,000.
“His employer wanted a business-class fare, but we had to book him first class over and business class back with Emirates, as that was all that was available. He literally got the last seats on the plane both ways,” Managing director of Mosman Travel Sharyn Kitchener said.
Y Travel founder Yvonne Verstanding pointed out that her top clients always prefer to book Emirates first class on the A380 aircraft due to larger suites and newer cabin products.
She noted that she had no choice but to put one of her clients on an older aircraft due to the newer ones being all capped.
“Flights are full from now for the next three to four weeks on key airlines. Last-minute travellers to Europe call us to book, but it’s just a case of zero or very expensive seats,” she said.
At the same time, Verstanding reveals that a lot of her clients are extending their holidays, with those who booked flights to attend the World Cup deciding to stay a little longer. France will be particularly more flooded with tourists such as Australians, while the French country hosts some quarter-final games in Marseille. On top of that, Paris is a destination that remains quite beloved for visitors.
In other words, the Rugby World Cup that will be held in France is expected to bring many sports lovers and tourists but also cause prices to surge, especially flight tickets. The surge in prices can be expected from September 8 to October 28, when the World Cup tournament will end.
On that matter, Ireland’s deputy head of the government and the Foreign Minister have issued travel advice for citizens headed to France for the Rugby World Cup, reminding them not to forget all necessary documents.
“Ahead of our Rugby World Cup opening game in Bordeaux on September 9, I urge all those travelling to do so safely and wisely. Ensure that your passport is on date, purchase travel insurance, get a European Health Insurance Card, and bring a passport card for travel convenience,” the statement of Tánaiste reads.
France has generated billions of euros in revenues from American and European tourists alone in 2022, and this amount is expected to increase further this year with the World Cup multiplying revenues generated from tourism.
