Page 10 - 366977 LP247663A Travel Matters 76pp A4 (September 2022)

Hello and welcome everyone to my latest update on our SPAA.
With the weather in Scotland now returning to our normal rain and wind, we all are grateful for the opportunity to seek sunnier climes. From the feedback we receive at the SPAA, business is continuing to go in the right direction for our members with a month on month increased trajectory of bookings and overall sales. Long may it continue.
Leisure and business travel is increasing and I myself have a business meeting arranged in Florida for October but have now experienced again first-hand the impact of the flight schedule reductions and changes to capacity limits and ongoing staff shortages.
In short, the domestic connection
was cancelled and although there was an alternative flight offered, it meant spending an unacceptable amount of time just waiting at the airport when in reality, we need to minimise our time out of the office due to the ongoing pressures of running the business
day to day.
I seriously worry about the long
term implications of this for flight connectivity via London - every month that passes with these ongoing issues, diverts more and more passenger traffic away to utilising alternative connections. I suspect these carriers that do fly from London may have a severe struggle to recover or even retain current market share as the travelling public look to alternatives and start to build up membership
and mileage points accruals with other airlines.
The long term implication for Scotland then becomes an issue as without
the connection traffic the viability of a domestic network will almost certainly be in jeopardy with ultimately reduced options to the south.
The next Cross-party Group on Aviation, which is driven by the SPAA and led by our Secretary Janice Hogarth, is due
to be held at the Scottish Parliament
at Holyrood on 20th September and we will continue to raise and voice the ongoing issues of the day for the travel trade here in Scotland.
We are currently compiling a report along with other members of the group
THE VOICE OF TRAVEL IN SCOTLAND
including airports, airlines and trade organisations which will be presented to MSPs at Holyrood.
Our annual golf day was held in Lanark and proved to be a fantastic event with great prizes and good fun on the day. I was lucky enough to play in the same four ball as the eventual individual prize winner, Alex Catton and it was a real joy to see some magnificent shots from him, Danny Giles and Graham Hennessy. If you did not manage
to attend this year, then I would thoroughly recommend putting it in the diary for next year now as it was a great networking opportunity for all.
By the time you read this we will have had the first ever Sparkle awards where we recognise individuals and the contribution of frontline counter staff and show our appreciation for all their hard work and endurance of what has been some unprecedented times. More to follow on the winners and photographs from on the day which will be circulated on our SPAA bulletins.
May I also take this opportunity to remind you that we will have launched the voting for our main awards ceremony in November which is always a highlight and a great night out with all our industry colleagues and an opportunity to show our appreciation for all our associates and key suppliers so please remember to vote.
Take care and stay safe.
Mike Tibbert SPAA President
10 SEPTEMBER 2022