Travel during uncertain times: we answer your questions

Has a holiday got a lot more expensive lately?

No. The total cost of a holiday is 2.5%-3.5% more than it was a year ago. Whilst fuel charges have gone up in the past month, we are always finding ways to help lower prices through smart planning, new great places to stay outside the busiest areas, or longer-stay special rates.

Also, the exchange rate is working in your favour compared with several years ago, and fuel is still actually 30% cheaper than it was in the late 2000s.

As of early May 2026, we can offer a four-week trip to Australia or New Zealand with flights, a fully insured car, 25 nights in unique, small-scale accommodation, and three nature, culture, and wildlife activities for around £5,000–£5,300 per person, based on two people travelling.

I see flights getting cancelled. Why?

Airlines often fly many times per day on the same route, and many of these planes weren’t very full. Normally, airports insist airlines use all their departure slots, but right now they are being lenient so as not to waste fuel. That makes it easy for airlines to cancel flights that would go half full and use fuel more efficiently by making two flights into one flight.

Also, demand for low-cost travel has dropped due to price increases, which means low-cost airlines are also consolidating flights.

Long-haul flights are expected to run as normal. In fact, we are seeing several airlines add extra long-haul flights due to high demand.

Is there a jet fuel shortage?

Yes and no. Around 20% of global oil flowed through the Strait of Hormuz prior to the conflict. Approximately a third of this oil now flows via pipelines. Regions with spare capacity to produce more oil, such as Brazil, West Africa, the United States, and Canada, are ramping up production and tankers are re-routing. But this needs some time. This is why May and June are the months most concerning to the airlines.

Whilst the Middle East provided fuel to Europe and Asia, China and the United States have also stepped in to fill the gap. China has more than 1.2 billion barrels in storage and provides fuel to the Asia Pacific region. The USA is the largest producer in the world, and its exports are sharply higher as tankers start to arrive to take the oil to where it is needed.

Flight efficiencies such as flying slightly slower, aircraft flying behind each other, taking off on a less steep ascent angle – all these things help reduce fuel burn. Fewer flights but in larger aircraft help too. And cancelling under-utilised routes also helps a lot. These are all adding up to get the market into balance so that the flights that are offered will actually fly as scheduled.

What happens if my holiday can’t go as planned?

Should anything change whilst you're travelling, we will proactively adjust your journey. Before you have a problem, we take care of alternative arrangements for you.

We have our own team located Down Under to provide real-time, real-human assistance 24/7. They can see your journey and can fix many problems immediately. If you search for TravelEssence reviews, you can read how proactive we are when it comes to making things run perfectly.

If things change drastically before you depart, and your plans are really affected, then you can change the date of your trip to a later date. And if that doesn’t suit you, then we will refund you and hope to see you back with us again at a later stage. This is the same service and security as we offered during Covid, much to our clients' satisfaction.

"Mother nature had a few surprises up her sleeve whilst we were away. The TravelEssence team sent an email to make sure we were aware and propose a plan B. It gave us the comfort to know that someone was keeping an eye on our progress."
— Pam, TravelEssence customer

We normally arrange our holiday ourselves. We like the idea of having an agent in uncertain times, but can we still get exactly what we want?

We create every holiday uniquely for every traveller. Each journey is designed with you and should include all you want. As a Down Under specialist with 20 years' experience, we have a wide and wonderful range of places to stay and things to do across every comfort level, starting from good and going up to amazing.

Many of the places you can enjoy staying at are in nature with great views, and we have plenty in towns and cities too. Many have cooking facilities or BBQs so you can prepare a meal and enjoy the view. We offer rental cars from Avis and Europcar and, with only a few exceptions, have zero insurance excess.

We will also help you maximise your travel budget through our tips and expertise. You may find your holiday with us is very attractive, both in terms of the holiday itself and the price, whilst you feel assured by our 24/7 support from our own team located Down Under who can help you directly.

Why would I book now?

What we know is that when a problem arises and then gets solved, there is a mad rush to arrange holidays. Right now, many people are gathering ideas and information. We expect it to be very busy again. Thus, if you would like to book early and well in advance, you will have the best choice and selection.

What do I get extra from TravelEssence that I wouldn't get elsewhere or on my own?

You’re in the best hands when it comes to travelling to and through Australia and New Zealand. Other clients really appreciate our service, and that's why we are rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot with a score of 4.8.

We have 20 years of expertise in arranging flights to New Zealand and Australia and have always recommended flying via Asia or sometimes North America.

For the past two decades, we have worked very closely with a select group of airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin, and Singapore Airlines. We have direct contact with them, and our clients are well looked after by them.

The same goes for our direct personal relationship with 99% of our accommodation hosts, most of whom own their own small business. If anything needs to change, they know us personally and we know them, and they are always there to help you too.

You are also financially protected through our ABTA membership and ATOL licence. We hope you feel positive and excited about the idea of going on your own Journey Down Under.