YIKES
Just had a look at prices for the same time next year and they are showing £500 more!!
Each????Or for all five of you?
Haha Sandy. No for All of us. Still bad though. Cost me £1070 this year and prices are £1500+
Flaming heck Jo that's a lot of extra money to find. Just think of how many days spending money that would be. You do flight only and accom' separately don't you? (maybe you will need to get you ECDL and drive over ;-) )
Eileenxxx
Yes very funny Eileen! and I can just see the boys going for that. Christ, they moaned when we drove for a couple of hors a time!!
The sheer horror of it Jo. Imagine suffering the alternating chorus from the back seat "when are we going to be there"..."are we there yet"..."I'm hungry"..."I'm thirsty"!!! Aarghh.....
Eileenxxx
Not to mention the price of the fuel....
It cost the four of us around £940 this year to fly with Thomas Cook from Bristol on 21 July for two weeks. Thomas Cook are showing £1440 for the same period next year so £500 extra for us too.
Do the arithmetic yourselves, guys but Arillas, like tourist destinations everywhere, is going to feel the pinch next year. Eating out too was more expensive than ever, down in part though not in total to the collapse of the pound
There is absolutely no way we can afford that hike in prices.
After five wonderful years on the bounce I don't think we will be back next year.
That is so sad Rick1883. But wherever you go it will be the same in Europe. Perhaps our local Weston super Mare might work? Er no... it will cost you more too. Probably more than 2 weeks in Arillas.
If the £984 was a package for four including acommodation it was really a good price. Could have been flight only. Hope as it all wears on you can find a way back.
We don't yet know what we will do next year - we are hoping to buy a one way ticket. But let's see.
Phil
No, the £940-ish we paid did not include transfer, accommodation, meals or anything else.
What I forgot to say, Phil, is that Corfu in general and Arillas in particular gives far better value than almost anywhere else we have been in Greece and Spain and compared to rip-off Britain where we could not afford to stay for sure, it's still a great deal.
I think the main effect of the economic downturn will be that working class families like mine will no longer be able to afford the Greek sun or any other sun apart from the very occasional British version.
its the same everywhere i was looking at rhodes town for next year normally £600 each for two weeks bed and breakfast now £1000 each.in todays newspaper it stated there are six million less seats available for next year so its less flights less hotels and more cost to us.not sounding too good.
These posts horrify me. The recession is here.
Rick1883 I rather guessed what you meant. Though last October Thomsons took us to Kaloudis for less than the price of a flight, that is not the mainstream. Thanks for coming back to me.
One of my biggest worries is how our Arillan hosts will suffer next year. IT and brochure errors (see posts) reduction in tour operators activities (see Joe our forum expert's posts) and the terrible exchange rate will make next year a bit of a disaster.
I am the son of a factory worker, Jen's dad was a riveter in making boliers. We too are a "working class" family, but a bit educated because of the fifties surge in that. We could be rich but we shunned it at every turn. And I know what you are saying. Arillas is not about class and all that stuff. It is what appeals to Jen and me. But 2009 will be a difficult one.
Phil
i have already browsed several brochures for next year not for arillas but for rhodes normally 10-12hotels for rhodes town now 2-3 theres no choice looks like arillas again.not that im complaining but i dont like doing same place year in year out.
First of all, apologies to Phil for the use of the phrase 'working class'. It was very clumsy of me. Perhaps I should have phrased it differently. The internet is a harsh place and I don't want to end up sounding like one of Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen!
Based purely upon anecdotes and speaking with people, I feel that the economic slowdown is far worse than many people imagine and it will impact massively upon many people's declining leisure spend.
For example, my partner and I are frontline public sector workers and have once again had no pay rises this year. In real terms, that is a pay cut and from our 'lower' income we would need to squeeze an extra £500 just for the flights to Corfu, as well as money to pay for accommodation, transfers, eating out and even going out. As the effects of the credit crunch are being felt right across Europe you can bet your bottom Euro that prices in Corfu will not be standing still either.
So times are tough and they are getting tougher and sadly it will impact on the number of people who will afford to visit Arillas. For families like us, Arillas could become just a memory.
Just had a word with my Mum on the phone, petrol at the pumps in Corfu is not far behind what we pay here now.
About these flights, reducing capacity will actually keep costs down and hopefully these can be passed on to you, aviation fuel has doubled in price in the past year, to a point we can absorb these costs but now the increase is to sharp, the only way to keep this both profitable and affordable is to remove any slack from the flying programs. Interestingly 2008 had many more flights to Corfu than 2007 and 2009 is predicted to have the same amount as 2007 (ish) so I don't think all the doom and gloom is warranted.
When booking a package you also get the flight at a subsidy, flight only you do not that's all part of the deal of buying the package the whole is cheaper than the sum of its parts. Flight only's will seem to have the sharpest increase and it will be anything from 20% - 50%, however the prices you are seeing now are the release prices and have yet to be affected by trading conditions, I would expect them to come down in the latter part of this year, more than anything it is imperative we get bums on seats, if the holidays are not selling well then the seat only's will be released at a cheaper price.
The package deals for next year are comparable with this year, finally something we can thank the merger for, the biggest issue facing Greece, Spain, etc is the strength of the Euro, without putting prices up things in Corfu are already 15% more than last year, which very quickly adds up, and how can you expect businesses not to raise their own prices when their costs are going through the roof.
Thanks Joe for the insight. When even a loaf of bread has nealy doubled in price, it is clear that families will cut back on holidays. I just worry that more of our favourite places in Arillas will shut down next year, starting a downward spiral. We heard that tourist income was down 30% for Corfu as a whole this year, and 2009 looks like being even worse. Just hope I am wrong.
And Rick - no offence whatsoever. I have lived the highlife and the lowlife. I'm not Arthur Scargill, but have been a Union rep the last twenty years. Now I am forum anorak, and enjoying every minute....
Phil
I hope Joe is correct and the prices drop later in the year. I have tried looking at flights for next year. This year we paid £1160 for 4 people for 4 weeks. Same flight next year with XL £1500. Flight only!!!
I've booked to come again next August with XL, thing is I've heard that they might be in trouble. Has anybody else heard anything?
Actually I've just found this on the BBC, Should those of us who've booked with them be worried?
Airline cancels Caribbean flights
Low cost carrier, XL Airways, has cancelled all its flights from London to the Caribbean this winter.
The announcement on Friday came one day after another budget transatlantic airline, Zoom, collapsed, leaving passengers in Bermuda and elsewhere stranded.
Both airlines have blamed the economic downturn and steep rises in fuel bills.
XL, one of Britain's biggest charter airlines had been due to fly from London Gatwick to Antigua, St Kitts, Tobago, St Lucia, Barbados and Grenada.
Aviation consultant John Strickland said the decision came as a surprise, given that the time of year is popular with travellers.
We always go independently apart from this September and Son In Law got us a real bargain. Looking at the prices for next year they are the same for a flight for the 3 of us as it is for a full package deal. I feel sorry for the hotel owners.
Jill
Received XL flight ticketts yesterday(for Santorini not Corfu....sorry)...
letter enclosed informing us that baggage allowance reduced to 15kg from 20kg as from March 1st 2008,(they also suggetsed we can have the extra 5kg for an extra £7.50 per person each way),,
As we booked the flights last year I got on the blower to XL and said I was not impressed and could We have a £30.00 refund (2 persons each way at £7.50).they were unable to grant a refund but would issue new ticketts with the 20kg reinstated.....so if anyone booked flights before March 1st 2008 and want the 20kg back..... give them a bell...!!!
(http://www.arillas.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc/avatar42.gif)
Kes
Received our tickets from XL today for flight on the 8th Sept. showing 20kgs allowance, seems as though they make the rules up as they go along.(We booked last December).
good on you kes ,,,a lesson for all..........yammas
dont no if this is any help to anyone but we have booked for june 19th 2009 with manos and we are paying£1054 for 2 weeks for 4 adults in 2 bedroomed apart.
We've paid £1300 for for of us for two weeks next year with xl which is about £150 cheaper than what we paid ths year with Thomas Cook.
Latest news on XL is that they are having talks with their Banks about a 'restructure'.
Also the £ has taken another hammering today - no doubt due to all the doom and gloom in the press and on TV about the state of the economy! Why is it we always seem to talk ourselves into a recession!!!
Yep Excel is in trouble but it's more than just an airline so you should be fine!
Totaly agree Robin...
The media jump on the bandwagon at the least oppertunity... if this is bad what about when interest rates were 15% !!! 3 day week...power cuts etc ...
Its unfortunate that lots of todays generation are brainwashed into borrowing money for things they don`t need ..Its all a Capitalist plot to keep us plebs under control..
Rant over & out...
XL have gone bump but not before taking 900 quid off me and my family.
I feel really sorry for anyone who has booked with XL. However I think that with the current state of the airline business there will be more carriers who are going to struggle over the next few months. I would be extremely cautious in booking flights for next year with small or low cost airlines. The only exception would be Ryanair and Easyjet - both have strong balance sheets and will weather the current storm.
Mick-G
I have been in the same situaton with Zoom, what annoys me is they have taken my money to keep their company afloat and are sending us to our credit card companies for compensation. With so many companies going under makes me think the credit card companies will have to recover these losses somehow, interest rate rises could be on the way !
I am worried for the bar Owners because of this. I will definately still be going to arillas next year but not sure if it will be for the two holidays that we were planning. I wander how many people will change there plans and not go at all?
We will have to think twice about a holiday next year the way things are going. My 2 holidays to Arillas each year is the only thing that keeps me sane and thats debatable at times ha ha
Jill
MickG you must be on my wave length,as I was just doing the math, if there were only 10 people on one of XL flight to Corfu today or tomorrow and they were all staying in Arillas for 1 week,with an average spend of maybe £700 per cpl for the week that's a minimum of £3500 not being spent in the village,may not sound allot but when you multiply it by 1000's to the island that will hit the economy.Okay so its the end of the season some will say but some MAY have been relying on this, its a bit like the butterfly effect.
Ang
We are facing the scary prospect of not getting to Arillas next year because of cost. (first time in 11 years) We have used XL every year simply because they beat everyone else on price hands down but the nearest alternative is showing prices of £400 more for us all. Its hard enough to justify that money each year but even more so now with the 'credit crunch'.
Hi Jo
Check out the prices for Kaloudis with Thomson. i know its not at the apartments you prefer, but there are some good prices from Manchester for the weeks you like.