On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:53:16 +0100
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 13:31:32 on Fri, 30 Mar
2012, d remarked:
The real blackmail is in the holiday companies and airlines stiffing people
with exhorbitant fares during school holidays. There's no reason for them to
do it , they just do it because they can. Its naked profiteering.

They price things according to supply and demand. It's difficult to
criticise that in a capitalist economy.

Except they put the prices up in the expectation of demand long before
the season, not actual demand during it.

B2003

On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:08:42 +0000 (UTC), d
wrote:
Except they put the prices up in the expectation of demand long
before
the season, not actual demand during it.

Because they know there *will be* high demand.

Neil

--
Neil Williams, Milton Keynes, UK

On 30/03/2012 11:07, d wrote:
On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:40:44 +0100
Graeme wrote:
So the whole of london is going to go away on holiday in the same 2 weeks
as the Olympics? Someone better tell the airports and ferry ports or there'll
be chaos!

Apparently a significant percentage of the population are leaving the
country during the Olympics so I suspect the airports and ferry ports
already know.

According to who? And what is a "significant percentage"? Unless its more
than about 20% which I highly doubt then it'll make sod all difference.


The figures I saw were 20%, it wasn't clear whether that was absolute or
another 20% over and above those who would normally go abroad at that time.

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read, substitute trains for rail.
Railway Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail

On Mar 30, 3:08*pm, wrote:

Except they put the prices up in the expectation of demand long before
the season, not actual demand during it.

And?

In message , at 14:07:20 on Fri, 30 Mar
2012, d remarked:
Reports say that 21% "want to leave" and 12% will. That's seven million
people, which quite a big chunk.

Which reports?

Google is your friend.

You made the assertion, you back it up. Don't expect others to do it for you.

I don't want you to "back me up". The figures I quoted are easy to find,
if you can be bothered.

I can't. So I guess your insights will have to remain unappreciated.

I'm used to being unappreciated, but the facts remain!
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 15:32:47 on Fri, 30
Mar 2012, Graeme Wall remarked:
The figures I saw were 20%, it wasn't clear whether that was absolute
or another 20% over and above those who would normally go abroad at
that time.

ABTA's report said:

"Escaping the crowds

Clearly we are not all sports lovers, 12% of Brits say they are
intending to go abroad specifically to avoid the Games and 9% are
looking to go on holiday somewhere in the UK free from Olympics fever.
The older generation appears to be the least keen on staying in the UK;
with 22% of the over 65s intending to head overseas to avoid the Games
and 18% of 55-64 year olds.

Londoners most likely to change plans

Perhaps unsurprisingly, over a quarter (28%) of Londoners are
considering changing their holiday plans due to the Olympics. Nearly 50%
say they will take time off throughout the games and 77% say they will
be staying in the Capital during the two weeks.

--
Roland Perry

In message , at 14:08:42 on Fri, 30 Mar
2012, d remarked:
The real blackmail is in the holiday companies and airlines stiffing people
with exhorbitant fares during school holidays. There's no reason for them to
do it , they just do it because they can. Its naked profiteering.

They price things according to supply and demand. It's difficult to
criticise that in a capitalist economy.

Except they put the prices up in the expectation of demand long before
the season, not actual demand during it.

What?? The demand for holidays occurs when people book them, not when
they take them.
--
Roland Perry

On Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:47:49 +0000 (UTC), d
wrote:

Despite what the arrogant buffoons in Locog think most people
arn't going to take 2 weeks off during the olympics nor are they
going to work from home or cycle or walk to work instead of using
the tube. So we're going to have complete chaos on PT and on the
roads thanks to the priority lanes. I can't wait.

Of course this is of no interest to most of the population living
outside the M25.

On 30/03/2012 17:16, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 15:32:47 on Fri, 30
Mar 2012, Graeme Wall remarked:
The figures I saw were 20%, it wasn't clear whether that was absolute
or another 20% over and above those who would normally go abroad at
that time.

ABTA's report said:

"Escaping the crowds

Clearly we are not all sports lovers, 12% of Brits say they are
intending to go abroad specifically to avoid the Games and 9% are
looking to go on holiday somewhere in the UK free from Olympics fever.
The older generation appears to be the least keen on staying in the UK;
with 22% of the over 65s intending to head overseas to avoid the Games
and 18% of 55-64 year olds.

Londoners most likely to change plans

Perhaps unsurprisingly, over a quarter (28%) of Londoners are
considering changing their holiday plans due to the Olympics. Nearly 50%
say they will take time off throughout the games and 77% say they will
be staying in the Capital during the two weeks.

Do such figures have any credibility whatsoever? I intend to be taking
my private jet to my own tropical island, but I'm having some slight
problems with an intermediate stage in this plan.

And even so, "9% are looking to go on holiday somewhere in the UK free
from Olympics fever." That somewhere could include London, which
wouldn't really help the transport situation...

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

On 30/03/2012 12:03, Robin wrote:
The fact that in the office of about 40 people I work in only 1 has
taken
a holiday of longer than 10 days in the last year. None of my friends
or family have taken 2 weeks either and last year I didn't notice an
appreciable drop in commuter traffic levels in london last summer
either.

So other than first hand experience I don't have any evidence.

No risk of sampling bias then? And no contradiction between your
conclusion and the ONS who reported in "Travel Trends 2010" the average
over all overseas holiday trips in 2010 was 10 nights?

Could it be that short trips are increasingly popular (being in real
terms more affordable and practical than in the past), but people don't
count shorter trips as "holiday"?

If someone happened to ask where I went on holiday last year I might
well say I had fortnight trip to Russia. But I also had a long weekend
in France, week+weekend Portugal, week+weekend in Germany and managed to
tag a couple of days on a business trip to the USA.

Admittedly I probably do more travel than typical, I don't have kids to
worry about, and see Benidorm as a place to have lunch before catching a
narrow gauge train rather than than somewhere to fester for a fortnight.

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK