I want to go away over the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend but noticed that even easyJet flights are much more expensive than usual. Will fares come down if I wait a while? - Carolyn Skinner, Wimbledon
To celebrate Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, the normal late-May bank holiday has been moved to Monday June 4, and an extra day off has been decreed for the following day. For travellers (and the travel business), this was welcome news indeed, as it offered the prospect for an extra break without taking time off work.
As soon as the dates were announced, demand for flights to many Mediterranean destinations spiked. The fare systems used by the airlines are designed to respond to a surge in demand by pushing up prices sharply.
For example, fly out on the lunchtime departure from Gatwick to Malaga on Saturday June 2 and back on the corresponding flight on Tuesday June 5, and the fare is £445 return. The same flights a week later cost £230 - barely half as much.
There is almost no chance that fares will fall between now and departure. For most flights at popular times, which generally means when the schools are off, prices only ever go up. If you can shift a week or two later, the bargains return in abundance, as demand will be dampened by the Euro 2012 football finals.
Assuming you can't change the dates, consider switching destination. On the mainly business route from Gatwick to Milan Linate, the return fare over the Jubilee weekend is just £132.
Besides being a great destination in its own right, Milan is also a hub for trains across Italy.
Email your travel queries to simon.calder@standard.co.uk
