Property investment > News

Low-cost flights are here and the overseas property market is actually making air travel cheaper.

This good news comes from easyJet who claim that tax hikes and soaring fuel expenses would not be passed onto their customers.

If you’re planning to buy a second home abroad air travel can push up your expenses, so news stories about the committee of MPs who recommend raising airline taxes to reduce carbon emissions and soaring oil prices provoked by US oil well closures and Middle East unrest were cause for concern.

Samantha Day from easyJet said that low prices are part of their long-term strategy. It’s more profitable for them to fly with a full load, and so they’re not going to price regular flyers out of the market. Passengers now expect low prices, and business customers are being catered for with more generous hand luggage allowances and innovations such as online check in and priority boarding.

There are many new easyJet routes planned, many on the periphery of the EU including new flights to Turkey and Croatia. Wizzair are flying from £1 excluding taxes to European cities such as Budapest, Warsaw and Zagreb. Flights from Birmingham to the newest property hotspot – Cape Verde – will be available later in the year.

No one, including easyJet, is denying that air travel has some effect on the environment, but aviation only accounts for 3% of carbon emissions in Europe. It might be an obvious target for protestors compared to heavy industry, which is more resistant to campaigning than airline passengers, but for individuals worried about their personal carbon footprint, it seems that a full low-cost plane is a greener vehicle of choice than a heavily taxed and expensive larger aircraft with fewer passengers.

The message to overseas property buyers is pretty clear; the low-cost flights, which contribute to a healthy tourist and investment property market are here to stay. If you buy a property overseas, you’re not going to find yourself unable to visit friends and family back at home.