Major airline has stark warning for Trump - could it impact our holidays?

Two major airlines have delivered a dire warning to Donald Trump’s administration over tariff wars and deportations, revealing Europeans are choosing to stay away.

Both Air France and Lufthansa have reported lower than usual demand for its transatlantic flights from Europe to the US in the first quarter of the year.

It comes amid Trump’s sweeping trade tariff threats that have sent stock markets into disarray and his administration's hostile border crackdowns, both of which may be scaring tourists off from visiting.

“We know there are a lot of customers that are holding back in buying tickets for a little more clarity on ... the border, and things like that,” Air France-KLM’s CEO Ben Smith told investors on a call on Wednesday.

According to the Financial Times, Air France saw a 2.4 per cent drop, compared with the same time last year, in transatlantic bookings for May and June from Europe.

Chief financial officer Steven Zaat explained there’s been a noticeable shift in booking patterns, with Europeans opting away from US trips. Meanwhile, travel in the other direction from the US to Europe has increased by 2.1 per cent on last year.

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Many of the major European long-haul airline groups are heavily reliant on the transatlantic travel routes and a fearful that the economic and immigration climate are scaring people away.

According to Barclays, the US routes generate 50 per cent of the profits for three major “flag carrier” airlines: Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and the owner of British Airways, IAG.

Lufthansa’s chief executive, Carsten Spohr, said they have seen a “slight weakening” in summer travel, particularly to America.

Spohr said: “When it comes to vacation trips to the US, especially from the German, Austrian and Swiss markets, it’s easy to imagine conversations around the kitchen table where families are saying, ‘We don’t know yet if we really want to go.’”

But he remained hopeful that, if the tariff talks settle, travel may recover.

“The discussions about tariffs are no longer as heated as they were four weeks ago. That is why we believe that some of these bookings will be recovered in the coming weeks,” Spohr added.

Despite this, Lufthansa is scrapping its plans to expand the number of transatlantic flights it offers, from 6 per cent to 3 per cent by the last quarter of 2025.

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