Timeshare owners hit by summer 2023 airport chaos

Hundreds of thousands of people to have flights cancelled this summer, pushing airline prices up for those who have to travel.

Easyjet and Lufthansa so far

Easyjet has cancelled 1700 flights at time of writing for August and September 2023. This equates to 180,000 people scrabbling for alternative flights. Lufthansa has cancelled double that amount with 3400 cancellations and over 360,000 disappointed passengers.

Pundits are predicting other airlines to follow suit. Eurowings, Brussels, Turkish Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air, Tui and Swiss Air are all expected to shed flights, and that could be just the start.

Some reports go even further, with the highest estimates claiming as many as one in three flights could be cancelled or delayed over the busiest summer period.

Causes

According to the Guardian, much of the flight cancellations are to pre-empt threatened strike action from air traffic controllers in mainland Europe. The Union Syndicale Bruxelles (USB), a union at the Eurocontrol network manager operations centre has given formal warning of strikes in the next few months but without any firm dates as yet.

The Ukraine war (with the subsequent closure of Ukrainian airspace) is simultaneously constricting available flight paths, causing more pressure on air corridors closer to destinations popular with Brits.

Unpredictable weather conditions, such as flooding, heatwaves and forest fires are also being blamed.

Staffing levels are a further factor, with many airlines still finding it difficult to train and retain qualified staff at pre-pandemic levels.

Effects

Passengers are being rerouted or refunded. Flight costs are rising as people compete for the remaining seats. People who value the flights more are forced to pay premium prices due to the restricted supply.

As well as cancelled flights, the strike actions and other summer disturbances are expected to result in delays, congested airports, check in difficulties, and potentially even lost luggage.

As with other markets, the demand for air travel will be likely to self regulate. Many Brits are seeking alternatives to foreign travel this year, rather than brave the price hikes and other inconveniences.

Timeshare predicament

Timeshare owners are already committed to paying for their accommodation. At the time of purchasing their membership they had to make decisions about their future holiday plans, sometimes many decades in advance, and they have minimal flexibility.

They are left the stark choice of paying whatever the airlines ask on those already determined dates, or abandoning their pre-booked accommodation (which they still have to pay for).

"Timeshare never coped well with changes in holiday patterns," notes Andrew Cooper, CEO of European Consumer Claims. "For example, as we get older, we want very different things from our leisure time, and timeshare has proven poor at adapting to even these foreseeable shifts in priorities."

"These are expected and predictable changes" continues Cooper. "Add seismic shifts like COVID, the Ukraine war, cost of living crisis, or the current airport chaos into the mix, and timeshare is absolutely unable to provide the versatility that modern holdaymakers need."

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