Friday the 13th: Unravelling the mystery over cheap flight claims
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair all say there is no drop in demand
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Claims by a fare-comparison website that “superstitious Brits” are shunning flights on Friday 13th have been flatly rejected by the three biggest airlines serving the UK.
Kayak claimed fares for Friday 13 April to Auckland are barely half the level for other Fridays in April. The firm asserts the average fare for departures to New Zealand’s largest city on “the superstitious date” was just £554 return, compared with an average of £1,049 on other Fridays.
The Independent has been unable to replicate Kayak’s results, or find any fares to Auckland as low as £554 return.
Looking ahead to the next Friday 13th, in July, the lowest fare to Auckland with a two-week stay on Kayak is £1,039 return. That is 4 per cent higher than the average of the other Fridays in July.
Kayak’s research on Friday 13 April also shows fares to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria are 42 per cent lower, with an average price of just £119 return from London to the island.
The lowest fare The Independent could find booking direct with an airline was £184 from Luton on Ryanair.
The fall in fares to Belfast was almost as dramatic, according to Kayak, with the April average of £107 return falling 41 per cent to £63.
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair all compete between London and Belfast.
The Independent asked each airline for its assessment of demand on Friday 13th compared with other dates, and also if there was any effect on 11 September, the anniversary of the terrorist attack on New York and Washington in 2001.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “There is absolutely no truth in this effect. Either for Friday 13th or September 11th”
British Airways reported that there is no drop in demand, adding that Friday is its busiest day.
Ryanair’s spokesperson said: “No, as always customers continue to book in their thousands. Every day is a lucky day for our 130 million customers, who enjoy the lowest airfares in Europe both on Friday 13th, September 11th and each of the 364 days we operate annually.”
On 11 September 2002, the first anniversary of the attack, numerous flights were cancelled, but since then schedules have operated normally.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments