THE era of cheap flights is over, a TUI boss has warned – although there are some ways to grab a bargain.
Airlines such as Ryanair used to offer flights for as little as £4.99 to destinations across Europe.
However, Sebastian Ebel, chief executive of the Hanover-based TUI group said there would be no returning to cheap, discounted plane tickets.
He told local media: "The demand for holiday flights exceeds supply, so you won’t get these cheap offers for marketing campaigns like you used to, with occasional exceptions."
“In 2023 there won’t be any ‘last-minute summer’ like there used to be."
Destinations across the Med including Greece had "virtually no beds left" he warned, although there were some destinations that still had availability.
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Brits should head to Turkey and Spain where there is still capacity, he said.
He also said that booking last-minute flights is no longer the way to find a bargain.
He continued: "On the contrary, the prices will tend to be higher rather than cheaper shortly before departure, because the hotel owners and the carriers know that people will still be making a lot of bookings at short notice.”
The increased cost of flights is due to a number of factors, including rising fuel costs, new eco taxes and lack of aircraft due to delayed deliveries and lack of flight crew.
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It's not just TUI issuing the warning – the boss of Ryanair has also echoed similar sentiments.
The airline's boss Michael O'Leary said holidaymakers won't see fares as low as £9.99 for the next year or two because of high oil prices.
Mr O'Leary said: "I don’t think you’ll see £9.99 flights for a long time."
Instead of flights under a tenner, Ryanair's spring flight prices started at £29.99.
We've rounded up the cheapest flights you can find on Skyscanner, with return flights to MIlan for just £29, and just £32 to head to Valencia and back.
Here's another clever tool that will help you find the cheapest flights.
And one woman flew to Ibiza for the day for just £23.
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