We've seen some interesting developments in the Business Class space recently with four airlines offering differing perspectives on the year ahead. For UK & Europe travel, Emirates and Singapore Airlines are sending conflicting messages about capacity with one announcing upcoming price increases and the other releasing more Earlybird discounts (more details below).
Cruise specials continue to come thick and fast suggesting that the cruise lines are still grappling with getting the right mix of price and "itinerary appeal" on some voyages. The 2024 Kimberley season is one to look closely at as Silversea, Seabourn, Ponant, Scenic, Lindblad National Geographic will all be operating there (you can read our first hand review of a Silversea Kimberley Cruise here).
As always, if you have specific travel plans in mind, please feel free to reply to this email (or give me a call) so I can assist.
Emirates 5% Airfare Increase from 2 November
Emirates has advised us that they have completed a review of their airfares from New Zealand and that from 2 November 2023 its prices across all cabins will to increase by 5%. As Emirates didn't release any 2024 UK / Europe Earlybird airfares either, this suggests that they are very confident in their forward bookings.
To lock in the current prices we need to issue Emirates tickets on 1 November 2023. In addition to the current Business Class specials, we've also refreshed the long-term Emirates UK / Europe First Class and Premium Economy airfares.
View Emirates Current UK / Europe Airfares
New Singapore Airlines Earlybird Airfares
The Singapore Airlines message is quite different to the Emirates message. From today, Singapore Airlines has released what it has described to us as the last of its 2024 UK / Europe Business Class and Premium Economy "Earlybird" airfares.
The main focus of this campaign are the "shoulder seasons" from March to June and then September and October (from Auckland and Christchurch) with discounts available to London, Paris, Frankfurt and Brussels. Singapore Airlines has shared with us that they have "pushed down good availability" for these periods which (in theory!) will make it easier for us to source the cheaper booking classes.
View Singapore Airlines UK / Europe Airfares
Compare Cruises with Our Search Engine
One of the advantages of our Cruise Search Engine is that it is a one stop shop for research. Rather than visiting different websites for each cruise line to make comparisons, a search by destination and date range will bring up a selection of cruise lines and itineraries that meet your criteria (and can then be filtered further).
Fine Travel is a Cruise Line Industry Association member and we are accredited to book cruises with all cruise lines. As always, I'm available to assist with research, confirm what special offers may be available, and to book your cruise.
Competition to North America Heats Up
In earlier newsletters we've discussed the impact that growing competition on North American routes has had on prices. With Delta, United and Air Canada all offering flights from New Zealand we have seen more frequent Business Class specials available from Air New Zealand and Qantas.
Earlier this month Hawaiian Airlines appeared to be the first casualty of this increase in competition as it announced that it would only offer a seasonal service from New Zealand.
Air New Zealand appears to be quite confident in its position as the leading carrier and has announced that long-term Business Class and Premium Economy airfares to the USA and Canada have increased from today (although Honolulu isn't included in this increase).
View Airfares to North America
Escorted Tours
For travellers who enjoy meeting new people, travelling with a group, and having a structured itinerary that covers the highlights of a new destination, escorted coach tours can be ideal. The tours companies now really focus on providing unique, behind the scenes, authentic experiences. Fine Travel is an accredited agent for the major escorted coach tour companies such as:
Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold
Trafalgar
Globus
APT
Backroads Touring
Intrepid
We can also access the same special offers and past passenger discounts as if you were booking direct. If you're planning to include a coach tour in your next itinerary please let me know.
Planning ahead for Winter Escapes
It's an all to common experience to be enjoying our summer months and then having winter sneak up before winter holiday plans are in place. With an international market place, popular resorts (particularly in smaller regions like the Cook Islands) can book up quickly.
Whether you're looking at Fiji, the Cook Islands, Bali, French Polynesia or Australia we can work with you and our wholesale partners (and directly with the resorts), to arrange holiday packages.
Contact Me About a Winter Escape
Renault Euroleases
For self drive tours of Europe, Euroleases can be the most cost effective means of renting a car for between 21 and 170 days (depending on location). You will receive a new Renault vehicle along with full vehicle factory warranty and full comprehensive insurance with nil excess, allowing you to drive through over 40 European countries with peace of mind.
If you're planning a self-drive tour of Europe you can contact me to arrange your Eurolease or conduct your own research via our Rental Car Booking Tool.
Visit Our Car Rental Booking Tool
Escape Winter with a Paul Gauguin Cruise
If you're looking for a different kind of winter escape next year then a Paul Gauguin cruise through French Polynesia may be what you're looking for. As part of the Ponant fleet, Paul Gauguin guests benefit from the structured Ponant discount program that includes up to a 30% discount for guests who book early (the discount reduces as more of the voyage is sold). On some itineraries Ponant also waives the solo supplement.
View Paul Gauguin Itineraries and Prices
Plan Safaris with an expert
Although South Africa is front of mind for reasons other than travel at the moment, we're seeing a number of clients returning to safari plans that were put on hold.
Our experience planning safaris is that it's easy to underestimate the amount of time required to travel between game reserves and to underestimate how much there is to see. By working with our New Zealand based safari specialists (who have long-standing relationships in Africa), if something goes wrong we have someone here to address it with rather than trying to chase down someone in Africa.
If you have safari plans, please feel free to email them through to me and I can work with you and one of our specialist partners to review what you have in mind and bring it together into a complete itinerary.
Cruises from Auckland this Summer
From the world's most luxurious cruise lines like Silversea, Regent Seven Seas and Seabourn, through to popular contemporary cruise lines like Princess, Auckland's port is going to be busy this summer.
Itineraries from Auckland will generally take in the major New Zealand ports (or like the Ponant itinerary pictured above a bucket list destination like the Chatham Islands) and then cross the Tasman for Australian ports of call (and then potentially further into Asia and beyond).