Airlines Offering Low Fares as European Visitors to US Decline by 17%

LONDON- Official US data reveals a 17 per cent year-on-year decline in Europeans visiting the United States in March 2025. Airlines now cut summer prices to fill empty seats on planes.

Typically, nonstop air fares between the UK and the US reach nearly £1,000 return in July and August. The Independent found Manchester (MAN)-New York (JFK) flights on Aer Lingus (EI) available for just £368 return.

Photo- Wikimedia Commons; Compiled by Aviation A2Z

US-Europe Travel Decline

Air Canada (AC) offers London Heathrow (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO) flights for £511 return in July, with connections in Toronto (YYZ) or Montreal (YUL), as demand to the US falls. Europeans access very low fares via the UK.

British Airways (BA) sells return tickets from Copenhagen (CPH) via London Heathrow (LHR) to New York (JFK) in August for just £365 – less than half the cost of a direct London (LHR)-New York (JFK) flight.

The US International Trade Administration reports significant declines from key European markets since Donald Trump’s election as president. Immediately after taking office, Trump ordered stricter controls on “all aliens seeking admission to the United States,” requiring they be “vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” This raised deportation fears among potential visitors.

The president expressed interest in acquiring both Canada and Greenland for the US. While Canadian arrival data remains unpublished in official figures, the impact on the Danish market appears clear. Greenland exists as an autonomous territory within Denmark. Arrivals from Denmark to the US dropped by approximately one-third compared to last year.

Part of the decline stems from the early Easter in 2024, which boosted the previous year’s numbers. The Heathrow shutdown on March 21 had a small effect, causing some European travellers to cancel trips after more than 700 outbound flights were cancelled.

Photo: Siddh Dhuri | MumbaiPlanes

From Growth to Decline

Four months ago, Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics, predicted a 9 per cent increase in visitors to the US in 2025. That forecast now shows a 9 per cent decline instead. The organisation states:

The correlating decline in international travel to the US is expected to be strongest in 2025, with persisting degrees of impact throughout the remainder of Trump’s second term.

Tourism Economics identified “negative sentiment,” and “border and immigration policies and uncertainty” as key issues. They predict a decline of over 20 per cent in visitor numbers from Canada. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) responded that it does not “retaliate against individuals for expressing their views.”

Aer Lingus & American Airlines Group in Dublin airport, 20/05/2017. Aeroin.net

Travel Agencies Data

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, stated: “Across our travel agency network, we are not seeing any sign of a decline in demand for travel to the US currently, and bookings continue to be robust, with New York and Orlando performing as strong favourite US destinations.”

Given that the US has a late Easter this year, this will distort March booking patterns. However, week-on-week bookings to the US are holding strong, and as of 31 March, sales across the travel agent partners were up 11 per cent compared to the previous week and up 5 per cent compared to the same week last year, as per Julia Lo.

Photo: Alec Wilson | Flickr

Industry Experts

The president and CEO of New York City Tourism + Conventions, Julie Coker, predicts a 10 per cent increase in UK visits to the city in 2025.

Paul Charles, chief executive of The PC Agency and former director of communications for Virgin Atlantic (VS), said: “While there are some early indications of a reduction in demand to the US, experience tells us that airlines, hotels and car hire firms usually tweak their prices and offer enticing offers to build back demand over time.”

Charles added: “A silver lining for the industry is that many Easter and summer holiday bookings to the US will already have been booked during the early part of the year, creating less worry about future revenues.”

Paul English, co-founder of travel website Kayak, told the Financial Times: “In just two months [Trump] has destroyed the reputation of the US, shown one way by diminished travel from the EU to the US. This is not only one more terrible blow to the US economy, it also represents reputation damage that could take generations to repair.”

Photo: Clément Alloing

Airlines Respond

Delta Air Lines (DL) cancelled its expansion plans for the second half of 2025 and warned it would defer deliveries of new Airbus aircraft while tariffs remain in place.

Delta’s chief executive, Ed Bastian, previously said the incoming Trump administration would be a “breath of fresh air” for airlines after what he called government “overreach” under President Joe Biden.

Delta (DL) donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, as did United Airlines (UA) and Boeing.

Featured Image by Siddh Dhuri | MumbaiPlanes

Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.

Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News

The post Airlines Offering Low Fares as European Visitors to US Decline by 17% appeared first on Aviation A2Z.