Last-minute flight bookings in Europe down from 2019

Falling consumer confidence in flying has led to a nosedive in summer bookings across Europe.

Last-minute reservations for flights within Europe were down 44% from 2019 levels as of July 10, according to new research by travel intelligence specialist ForwardKeys. Summer bookings from Amsterdam decreased 59% from prepandemic levels and those from London dropped 41%.

Last-minute bookings within Europe also experienced a slowdown in the short-term, with summer reservations falling 5% from late May to early July.

The report by Valencia, Spain-based ForwardKeys examines intra-European reservations for July and August flights and changes in seat capacity.

Findings show that consumer confidence has steadily declined since the last week of May. The drop in consumer confidence correlates to a rise in partial cancellations and modifications to flight reservations, which nearly tripled from pandemic levels for the period of May 30 to July 10, according to ForwardKeys.

Olivier Ponti, vice president of insights at ForwardKeys, says airports and airlines have struggled to cope with the recent resurgence of demand, leading to “chaos for the travelers whose flights are affected.”

Ponti says he is confident that airports will eventually achieve full staffing. But he points to several trends that concern him: rising fuel costs, inflation and dampening demand due to travel disruptions.

“We are seeing a dramatic slowdown in last-minute flight bookings, plus an increase in cancellations. At the end of May it seemed we would see an exceptional summer for travel within Europe, but now it is more likely to be just a good one."