Delta Air Lines Makes a Big Bet On Winter Travel to the Caribbean

Americans are traveling internationally in the summer of 2023 in big numbers.

Flights to Europe are up from 2022 by a significant percentage. But a different destination is also expected to see rising visits in the months ahead.

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Once travel restrictions implemented as a result of the pandemic eased, the number of Americans traveling to Europe increased by 600% from 2021 to 2022, according to travel insurance provider Allianz Partners USA.

After analyzing trips of about a week in length, scheduled between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 2023, the company found that London was involved in the most bookings from the U.S. to Europe, with 25%. Major European destination cities Paris, Dublin and Rome came in second, third and fourth, respectively.

"Last year, we saw a major increase in American travel to Europe and this summer indicates even higher demand, so it's more important than ever to plan for a busy summer travel season," said Daniel Durazo, spokesperson for Allianz, in a company statement. "From booking your dream hotel room with incredible views, to locking down flight schedules, planning ahead is key, and so is considering travel insurance to protect your travel investment from covered trip cancellations, interruptions, delays and medical emergencies."

The analysis found that trip length for these vacations was most often a week.

"The survey also reviewed planned trip length, finding that 80% of Americans heading to Europe this summer will spend seven days on vacation with 11% planning for eight days away from home," the statement said.

While American Airlines  (AAL) - Get Free Report and United Airlines  (UAL) - Get Free Report also schedule frequent Europe trips from the U.S., Delta Air Lines  (DAL) - Get Free Report has the most flights to Europe of all U.S. airlines in 2023.

Delta Airlines Looks Ahead to Winter Travel

As the summer gives way to the colder months in the fall and winter, airlines are planning for a shift in Americans' travel plans.

Destinations are more likely to involve warmer climates as travelers look for a break from chilly weather.

Reacting to that expected trend, Delta has announced an expanded schedule for flights to the Caribbean this winter. In fact, this will be Delta's biggest schedule yet for service there.

"It'll make the 2023-2024 winter season Delta's busiest yet in the region," Delta said, according to Zach Griff of The Points Guy. 

The ramp-up in travel to Europe has been occurring at the same time as some low-cost airlines in the U.S. have been experiencing a slowdown for bookings in two different categories.

During earnings calls, executives from Frontier Airlines  (ULCC) - Get Free Report, JetBlue  (JBLU) - Get Free Report and Spirit Airlines  (SAVE) - Get Free Report discussed a declining demand for domestic and short-haul international destinations.

"These executives repeatedly cited pent-up demand to Europe as a key reason why these shorter flights aren't operating at capacity, as one might've originally expected when the summer schedules were initially filed," Griff wrote.

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