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Travel troubles - 8 January 2007

Ordinarily, you would think that travelling to your property overseas would be the least of your concerns, having been through the search, legal, mortgage and immigration red tape. With the recent trials and tribulations of travellers over the Christmas period, you might be forgiven for deciding to stay overseas, and not have to deal with the UK airport system.

First, there were the heavy cancellations of flights from Heathrow airport in the run up to Christmas due to foggy conditions, with thousands of people wondering whether they would be able to get to see their families over the festive period.

On top of this, baggage from up to 28,000 British Airways passengers was delayed through a combination of broken luggage belts and the adverse weather conditions. The Daily Mail reported that much of this mountain of bags was being sent from Heathrow to cheaper contractors in Italy to then sent on to be reunited with its currently slightly less elegant owners.

To compound the problem, many items of luggage are being delivered to passengers’ overseas destinations after they have finished their trip and returned to the UK, further delaying the process, and for some who have now got their bags back, there are reports of broken, soaked and mis-handled cases. Another complaint from customers is that they have to call premium-rate numbers to find out what has happened to their luggage, part of which charge goes directly to BA.

A total of ten airlines have this weekend refused to fly from Bristol airport, amid safety fears over a new runway surface. There have been a number of incidents of aircraft overshooting the runway due to reported skidding on the new surface. Although the CAA has passed the resurfacing work as safe to use, experts are saying that the runway needs further grooves cut in key areas for takeoff and landing to improve braking performance in wet weather. EasyJet was the first airline to divert its flights, followed by other regional and international carriers. Following overnight drainage work on Sunday, flights to and from the airport are expected to return to normal on Tuesday.

It wasn’t all bad news for the airline industry though, with news from the Flight Centre that the recent increase in ticket prices on the London Underground system means that it is cheaper to fly First Class than it is to travel across London by Tube. Taking the cost per mile of the two forms of transport, it is cheaper to take a first-class trip from London to Syndey than it is to go from Elephant and Castle to Tottenham Court Road. Although the Tube can get up to 110-degree heat in the summer, it isn’t quite the same as Bondi – it definitely puts things into perspective.

And if that doesn’t manage to convince you to get on the path to owning an overseas property, the news that property values in areas overseas which are served by a local airport with low cost airlines are significantly higher than other areas in the same country.

A study conducted by Savills Research and Holiday-Rentals.co.uk has found that properties within ten miles of an airport with low cost carriers are on average 39 per cent higher in value than those near airports not served by budget airlines. This shows that low-cost airlines are driving the market for overseas property in some areas, which can lead to a higher rental yield for owners, as guests’ travel costs are reduced.

At the same time, it would be unwise to buy in a specific area purely for the fact that the local airport is served by one of the budget carriers. Airlines are struggling more and more to make a profit in this day and age, and will drop routes quickly when they aren’t used enough to make a profit.