Timo007 From United States, joined Jan 2007, 38 posts, RR: 0 Posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 4398 times:
Hi all,
I was curious on your opinions the current exchange rates will have on US and European airlines.
With the dollar at over 1.42 to the Euro and over 2.04 to the pound.
The issues I see are:
- US airlines should have lower costs given they pay salaries, maintenance, etc in dollars
- Less Americans will travel to Europe for vacation
- More Europeans will travel to USA for vacation
I wonder if this will lead more Europeans to fly US carriers vs local carriers.
Shuggie From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2007, 97 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 5 days 12 hours ago) and read 4356 times:
I don't know the answers to your questions although I have noticed that a lot of the British are seizing the opportunity to visit the USA rather than other holiday destinations at the moment...
You have made me wonder about how pricing works though. Airlines normally charge you for your ticket (on the internet anyway) in your own currency but how do they reach that price? Are the prices calculated on the spot by converting at the relevant exchange rate from the fare in the airlines own currency or is there a set fare for each of the currencies that the airline trades in? For example, say I bought a ticket with CO from EDI to EWR, CO will charge me for this ticket in £, do they get this price by taking the $ fare and converting it at todays exchange rate or do they have one fare for pax paying in $ and other for pax paying in £? If the former is correct then the airline (CO in my example) would always make the same amount of profit on each ticket but the passengers would all be paying different prices depending on when they booked, if the latter were true then the airlines would stand to make or lose a different amount on each ticket depending on the exchange rate but all of the passengers would be billed at the same prices.
TransIsland From Bahamas, joined Mar 2004, 1727 posts, RR: 5 Reply 2, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 5 days 12 hours ago) and read 4346 times:
Quoting Timo007 (Thread starter): I wonder if this will lead more Europeans to fly US carriers vs local carriers.
Most Europeans I know tend to fly whatever airline offers them a good rate to their destination of choice, and a schedule that suits their needs. Be that an airline from North America or Europe. On the other hand, my personal experience is that U.S. Americans tend to be more xenophobic when it comes to choosing an airline.
I'm an aviation expert. I have Sky Juice for breakfast.
Knightsofmalta From Malta, joined Nov 2005, 652 posts, RR: 6 Reply 3, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 5 days 11 hours ago) and read 4278 times:
Airlines calculate in NUC, which is like an airline currency which is roughly the equivalent to the US Dollar. The price of the ticket is calculated in NUC first and is then converted into the currency of the place of issue at the respective rate of exchange from NUC into that currency. The rates of exchange are updated at regular intervals.
StarGoldLHR From Heard and McDonald Islands, joined Feb 2004, 1529 posts, RR: 1 Reply 4, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 4029 times:
Most europeans are still sensitive over america's treatment of passengers at the US Immigration and the overall image the US has presented of it's country in the last few years.
even with a cheaper ticket it won't make that much difference... most europeans are somewhat "cautious" about visiting the US.
British on the other hard.. dont care. With British inflation, the oppourtunity to go shopping at half price most people will but up with the "impersonality" of US Immigration for a few hours
So far in 2008 45 flights and Gold already. JFK, IAD, LGA, SIN, HKG, NRT, AKL, PPT, LAX still to book ! Home Airport LCY
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 10934 posts, RR: 13 Reply 5, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 5 days 2 hours ago) and read 3938 times:
Quoting Shuggie (Reply 1): For example, say I bought a ticket with CO from EDI to EWR, CO will charge me for this ticket in £, do they get this price by taking the $ fare and converting it at todays exchange rate or do they have one fare for pax paying in $ and other for pax paying in £? If the former is correct then the airline (CO in my example) would always make the same amount of profit on each ticket but the passengers would all be paying different prices depending on when they booked, if the latter were true then the airlines would stand to make or lose a different amount on each ticket depending on the exchange rate but all of the passengers would be billed at the same prices.
No, international fares in each direction rarely have any connection with each other. They're based on the market and competitive situation from each country of origin. Fares are established and published in the local currency of the country of origin. When you pay in another currency the fare is converted at the applicable exchange rate in effect at the time of conversion. Fares will often be very different depending on the country of origin. That's also why it can often be cheaper to buy two separate one way tickets in each direction than a round trip ticket, when you're using the full unrestricted normal F/J/Y fares, although airlines quite often try to deter that practice by setting one way fares at more than 50% of the round trip fare, sometimes as high as 70% of round trip.
When fares are much higher from one point of origin than the other due to currency relationships or other market factors, airlines will often try to limit the capacity available from the origin point where fares are low and allocate as much capacity as possible for passengers originating from the origin point with the highest fares in order to maximize their revenue.
Quoting Knightsofmalta (Reply 3): Airlines calculate in NUC, which is like an airline currency which is roughly the equivalent to the US Dollar. The price of the ticket is calculated in NUC first and is then converted into the currency of the place of issue at the respective rate of exchange from NUC into that currency. The rates of exchange are updated at regular intervals.
NUC is only used for calculations when you have to combine fares in different currencies or calculate refunds, reroutes etc. The starting point is the fare in the currency of the country of origin, except for countries with very weak and rapidly devaluating currencies where fares are often published in USD (or EUR from some countries) and when you pay in the actual local currency of the country concerned the USD/EUR is converted at the exchange rate in effect locally which may change daily or weekly etc.
Many governments also regulate fares from their countries and require that fare changes be filed and approved before they can be sold so airlines can't always easily increase fares from all countries to offset currency fluctuations or other cost increases. In some cases, airlines based in high-cost countries may even decide to suspend service to certain points when fares from that country become so low that it's no longer profitable to sell them.
Airlines based in Europe especially those where the euro is the local currency currently benefit from the weak USD since many of their major expenses especially aircraft/parts and fuel are established in US$. They're thus much less affected by increases in fuel prices than US carriers. However any sales they make in the USA are worth less when converted to EUR and competitive conditions rarely permit fares to be increased enough to completely offset such currency depreciation. That's another reason why they will likely give priority to sales originating Europe than from the USA.
VV701 From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 3850 posts, RR: 20 Reply 6, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 3745 times:
Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 5): No, international fares in each direction rarely have any connection with each other.
What Viscount724 says is not simply true of air fares but a whole host of products. Local prices must be competitive. Apart from commodities like oil or gold they therefore rarely change to match changes in exchange rates. So, for example, I have bought die-cast model aircraft on the Internet from US dealers and, even after paying for 1st class delivery, have saved money. You will find the greatest savings on models introduced when the US $ was not so weak as it is today, the smallest (if any) saving on very recently released models. However you do have to remember the potential hidden cost of import duty and VAT, but neither is applicable to a personally imported good with a cost of under £30.00.
Scalebuilder From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 7, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 3671 times:
Quoting Timo007 (Thread starter): I was curious on your opinions the current exchange rates will have on US and European airlines.
Obviously the weak dollar is a big and stimulating incentive for Europeans (but not just Europeans) who want to take their vacation here in the US. We are seeing this as we speak. Demand for leisure travel from Europe to the US is up sharply not just in 2007 over prior years, but also for what we can expect in 2008. You're looking at a 10% to 15% increase in visitors according to the Office of Travel and Tourism, and you're looking at even bigger increases in spending, reflecting the affordability of the dollar.
It will likely pay off to buy your ticket in US dollars whenever you can. I know that pricing systems, the involvement of multiple carriers etc. may complicate the picture. However, if you pay for your fare in any major currency other than US dollars, and ultimately pay in US dollars, you're very likely to come out on the plus side, even when factoring in bank and exchange fees.
As far as aircraft purchases, today would be a good day for a European airline to put in that major Boeing order. Most existing European Boeing customers enjoy incredible currency gains these days as well.
[quote=StarGoldLHR,reply=4]Most europeans are still sensitive over america's treatment of passengers at the US Immigration and the overall image the US has presented of it's country in the last few years.
even with a cheaper ticket it won't make that much difference... most europeans are somewhat "cautious" about visiting the US.
Lt-AWACS From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 3628 times:
Quoting StarGoldLHR (Reply 4): Most europeans are still sensitive over america's treatment of passengers at the US Immigration and the overall image the US has presented of it's country in the last few years.
even with a cheaper ticket it won't make that much difference... most europeans are somewhat "cautious" about visiting the US.
not true at all. Numbers are soaring for Europeans going to the US for travel, and vice versa North Americans are visting Europe less and less
The drop in Euro travel started peaking in the 03-mid05 timeframe and has been on the rise since.
Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
AWACS, Io sono il capo di tutti capi...
RedFlyer From United States, joined Feb 2005, 3602 posts, RR: 30 Reply 9, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 3593 times:
Quoting StarGoldLHR (Reply 4): Most europeans are still sensitive over america's treatment of passengers at the US Immigration and the overall image the US has presented of it's country in the last few years.
even with a cheaper ticket it won't make that much difference... most europeans are somewhat "cautious" about visiting the US.
In 2006, the U.S. recognized a record of around $110 Billion in tourism dollars. The majority of it coming from a record of European visitors. Perhaps you're "cautious about visiting the U.S.", but I'd say that is not true of your fellow Continental citizens.
Ken777 From United States, joined Mar 2004, 2880 posts, RR: 12 Reply 10, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 3546 times:
While the drop in the Dollar makes visits to the US less expensive for those in Europe it makes tit significantly harder for those in the US to visit Europe. The average person in the US is going to find it very expensive to take a trip across the pond. Rather sad around here as I am one that believes a lot of people in the US should see other parts of the world and discover that the US is not the only country in the world.
Atmx2000 From United States, joined Oct 2004, 4576 posts, RR: 43 Reply 11, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 3519 times:
Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 5): Airlines based in Europe especially those where the euro is the local currency currently benefit from the weak USD since many of their major expenses especially aircraft/parts and fuel are established in US$. They're thus much less affected by increases in fuel prices than US carriers.
While US carriers have seen fuel become a higher percentage of costs than before, European and US carriers will see the same costs in absolute terms for fuel for flying the same international flight. The same is true for parts. What has changed is that US carriers' overall labor and facility costs have decreased in relation to European carriers from the highs of 1998-2002 period. But whereas European labor was steeply discounted during that period, unit labor costs have only reached parity with the fall of the dollar to current levels.
Quoting Ken777 (Reply 10): Rather sad around here as I am one that believes a lot of people in the US should see other parts of the world and discover that the US is not the only country in the world.
Well, I am one who believes there are lot of people in the US who should see a lot more of the US and discover there is more to the US than their preferred little strips on the coasts.
ConcordeBoy is a twin supremacist!! He supports quadicide!!
Timo007 From United States, joined Jan 2007, 38 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 3460 times:
I agree that Europeans are starting to visit the USA a lot more. Living in Paris I had more colleagues visit the USA than any other destination this summer. One of the large motivations was to take advantage of the USA being cheap and many were afraid of prices going up.
None were worried about the security issues, yet some did have issues with immigration and customs.
I have noticed that as the dollar has gotten weaker, the trips from Europe to the USA seem to be more expensive. I am seeing winter fares much higher from Paris to the USA than from the USA to Paris. It seems as if Europeans are going to help American Airlines such as Delta and Continental make their new routes profitable by paying more tha the same American passenger on a trans-atlantic route.
Olle From Sweden, joined Feb 2007, 187 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 3457 times:
I read in a newspaper that experts starts to consider 1.45 in exchange rate the next step.
How far will this go before the situation get stabile?
Considering that Europe as a whole is 1-2 years after USA in the económical cycle we can expect at least 1 more year before the economics in Europe get more weak and the interests decreases and the differences of exchange rate increases.
ANother From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 14, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 3352 times:
Quoting Knightsofmalta (Reply 3): Airlines calculate in NUC, which is like an airline currency which is roughly the equivalent to the US Dollar.
Quoting Knightsofmalta (Reply 3): The price of the ticket is calculated in NUC first and is then converted into the currency of the place of issue at the respective rate of exchange from NUC into that currency
Quoting Knightsofmalta (Reply 3): The rates of exchange are updated at regular intervals.
Quoting Lt-AWACS (Reply 8): not true at all. Numbers are soaring for Europeans going to the US for travel, and vice versa North Americans are visting Europe less and less
The drop in Euro travel started peaking in the 03-mid05 timeframe and has been on the rise since.
Quoting RedFlyer (Reply 9): Perhaps you're "cautious about visiting the U.S.", but I'd say that is not true of your fellow Continental citizens.
City Overseas* Visitors in 2006 Change from 2000
Los Angeles 2.5 million -29%
Orlando 2 million -34%
San Francisco 2 million -30%
Miami 2 million -33%
Oahu/Honolulu 1.7 million -22%
Las Vegas 1.6 million -27%
Chicago 1 million -21%
Metro DC Area 1 million -28%
Boston 1 million -25%
San Diego 650,000 -7%
Atlanta 477,000 -32%
San Jose 412,000 -17%
Seattle 325,000 -22%
Anaheim 303,000 -39%
*excludes visitors from Canada and Mexico
Lt-AWACS From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 15, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 3320 times:
First of all overseas visitors and European visitors are two different things (5 of the top ones on that list get just as many visitors from Asia, which is a different demographic), second, who finances the discover America partnership and what are their methods?
You can read stats from C&I (in the USA) and other sources that say otherwise. Second the posts above, like mine, note a climb from levels when they were lowest in 2002-2004.
here in Europe people are going to the USA in much higher numbers than before. The exchange rate is a big factor in that. It is not that hard to understand one can hope.
DiscoverAmerica has an agenda that is a bit different than the general purpose of this discussion.
Ciao, and Hook 'em horns,
AWACS, Actions speak louder than bumperstickers
ANother From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 16, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 3290 times:
Well those statistics are attributable to your own Commerce department.
While I understand your wishful thinking that the trend has started to change, it remains a fact that some travellers avoid the US, despite the favourable exchange rates. The 'welcome' given by US customs and immigration is often given as the reason.
No doubt someone will suggest that if I don't like it, I should just stay away. I don't and I do.
Laxintl From United States, joined May 2000, 12184 posts, RR: 22 Reply 17, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 3285 times:
Quoting Timo007 (Thread starter): I was curious on your opinions the current exchange rates will have on US and European airlines.
United has stated the weak dollar is greatly benefit its European flights, and its Atlantic division is on the way to surpass its Pacific division in profitability in 2007.
Basically UA manages to earn a good deal of its revenue in stronger Euros, while majority of its cost is in weaker USD
Quoting Olle (Reply 13): How far will this go before the situation get stabile?
Its stated US economic policy to maintain a weak dollar. It greatly benefits US exports making them cheaper for much of the world.
Quoting Ken777 (Reply 10): While the drop in the Dollar makes visits to the US less expensive for those in Europe it makes tit significantly harder for those in the US to visit Europe.
Which can be a good thing. Staying home and spending money in the US also benefits the US economy. Many US leisure destinations are seeing record attendance while US domestic hotel industry is enjoying strong profitability and occupancy rates.
Not according to the Los Angeles visitors and conventions bureau.
In 2000, LA saw 24.2mil overnight total visitors, while in 2005 number was 25.0mil, of which 4.5mil were international a 9.2% increase.
Top countries(excluding Canada & Mexico) and change:
UK -4.9%
Japan -12.2%
Australia +50.0%
South Korea +5.8%
Germany +48.6%
Taiwan +5.3%
China +30.0%
France +16.7%
Italy +80.8%
WingedMigrator From United States, joined Oct 2005, 1666 posts, RR: 53 Reply 18, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 3282 times:
Quoting Atmx2000 (Reply 11): European and US carriers will see the same costs in absolute terms for fuel for flying the same international flight.
Oil is priced in dollars. If the value of the dollar drops, and the underlying value of the oil stays the same, then the oil price (in dollars) will increase. Airlines whose revenues are dollar-denominated will suffer more from this increase than airlines whose revenue is Euro denominated-- even if the cost in dollars of a pound of Jet-A is exactly the same to each one.
Lt-AWACS From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 19, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 3259 times:
Quoting ANother (Reply 16): Well those statistics are attributable to your own Commerce department.
It is not exactly "my" commerce department as I don't work for them and as I have multi citizenship but that has no bearing here.
The US Commerce dept stats actually prove my point. European visits to the US are up since the lows post 9-11.
That is a fact. I am sorry you cannot accept this. Here in Italy, where my sister in law is a travel agent, the numbers are way up according to the travel agents and near my old house on the German Dutch border numbers were climbing as well. Two of Spanish aviation collegues say the same-numbers to the US are up.
Recent articles in the International Herald Tribune also have noted a turn around. Simple really. Sorry this seems to disappoint you kid.
I have dealt with cumstoms agents while living on 4 continents and they all tend to be asses. US citizens get the same crappy treatment much of the time. People still travel
Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
AWACS, Hermano bebe, que la vida es breve
WingedMigrator From United States, joined Oct 2005, 1666 posts, RR: 53 Reply 20, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 3259 times:
Quoting Laxintl (Reply 17): Its stated US economic policy to maintain a weak dollar.
That would be a 180 degree departure from the last few decades of US monetary policy. Deliberately weakening the dollar would cause the several trillion (yes, with a 'T') of US debt held by foreigners to lose its value, thus causing them to dump their dollar assets and discontinuing their ~$2 billion/day credit line to the US. Such a run on the dollar would hurt us enormously. Yes, Boeing exports might increase, but that's only a tiny silver lining on a very large, dark cloud.
Seriously, the document you provide is showing a small slice of the big picture. Namely, visitors (I'm assuming it means overnight visitors) to major cities. They don't even include Phoenix, which is where I live, in the data. Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the U.S. and I know we've seen a huge increase in tourism here over the last few years. So it leads me to wonder how selective that table in your referenced document is. Also, are those stats for the city itself or the metropolitan area? There's a difference.
The document you reference was published by a group seeking to promote U.S. interests by encouraging more visitors to the U.S. to improve America's image, not to shore up sagging tourism.
I suggest you look at unabridged statistics from the U.S. government:
AirNZ From United Kingdom (Northern Ireland), joined Feb 2005, 3106 posts, RR: 14 Reply 22, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 3199 times:
Quoting Laxintl (Reply 17): Its stated US economic policy to maintain a weak dollar. It greatly benefits US exports making them cheaper for much of the world.
If true, then that's both interesting and very much hypocritical considering the US is consistently condemning China for it's monetary policy concerning the Yen.
Luisca From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 23, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 3173 times:
Quoting Laxintl (Reply 17): Quoting Ken777 (Reply 10):
While the drop in the Dollar makes visits to the US less expensive for those in Europe it makes tit significantly harder for those in the US to visit Europe.
Which can be a good thing. Staying home and spending money in the US also benefits the US economy. Many US leisure destinations are seeing record attendance while US domestic hotel industry is enjoying strong profitability and occupancy rates.
Yes but if more Americans travelled we wouldn't have the level of Xenophobia we have in this country now, I am sad to say most americans think that Anything south of the Border is Mexico and any country across the pond is filled with gays, drunks, atheists and communists.
The sad thing is that the level of cultural illiteracy in this country is bad all across demographic groups; with the notable exception of the yuppies, even amongst the well off. I have had people in College tell me that Panama is a territory of the US in Africa!, and that Mexican is a language.
Scalebuilder From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 24, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 3088 times:
Quoting AirNZ (Reply 22): If true, then that's both interesting and very much hypocritical considering the US is consistently condemning China for it's monetary policy concerning the Yen.
Probably not true.
China in it's place, and historically, has been reluctant to let their own currency float freely against other currencies in the free financial markets. Instead their Government has "pegged" the Yen at fixed rates against other currencies. The US has never done so. Through regular trade talks, the US has been pushing China on this for years (and rightfully so). The US dollar is depreciating right now against other currencies, but that has nothing to do with any particular US monetary policy. China is still the hypocrate. The US is not the guilty one on this one.
Quoting WingedMigrator (Reply 20): That would be a 180 degree departure from the last few decades of US monetary policy. Deliberately weakening the dollar would cause the several trillion (yes, with a 'T') of US debt held by foreigners to lose its value, thus causing them to dump their dollar assets and discontinuing their ~$2 billion/day credit line to the US. Such a run on the dollar would hurt us enormously. Yes, Boeing exports might increase, but that's only a tiny silver lining on a very large, dark cloud
Like you say, this will drive currency losses for those who have confidence in the US economy into the hundreds of millions. I am concerned too. It is good for our tourism and export industries that the dollar is low, but not very good at all for any national economy that depends on leverage as much as we do to survive.
Quoting Luisca (Reply 23): The sad thing is that the level of cultural illiteracy in this country is bad all across demographic groups
It may not be as bad as you say. I live in a very average, middle-class neighborhood. Most people are naturally curious about my European heritage (I was born and raised in Europe). I can't say that I really can identify with your statement.
Atmx2000 From United States, joined Oct 2004, 4576 posts, RR: 43 Reply 25, posted (2 years 2 months 1 week 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 3075 times:
Quoting WingedMigrator (Reply 18): Oil is priced in dollars. If the value of the dollar drops, and the underlying value of the oil stays the same, then the oil price (in dollars) will increase. Airlines whose revenues are dollar-denominated will suffer more from this increase than airlines whose revenue is Euro denominated-- even if the cost in dollars of a pound of Jet-A is exactly the same to each one.
That's why I said:
Quoting Atmx2000 (Reply 11): While US carriers have seen fuel become a higher percentage of costs than before, European and US carriers will see the same costs in absolute terms for fuel for flying the same international flight.
Fuel is a higher percentage of costs for US airlines now than before, while labor and equipment is less. For EU carriers, fuel costs are higher as well, equipment should be lower, while labor I'm not sure about.
Quoting Luisca (Reply 23): Yes but if more Americans travelled we wouldn't have the level of Xenophobia we have in this country now
Don't be so sure about that. Familiarity can breed contempt, and just like the perceived poor treatment by customs and immigration authorities experienced here in the US by foreign visitors is supposed to make foreigners dislike us, poor treatment abroad experienced by US travellers in many countries won't make anyone but the hate-America-first crowd feel any more affection for foreigners.
Quoting Laxintl (Reply 17): Its stated US economic policy to maintain a weak dollar.
It's stated US policy that the market should decide exchange rates.
Quoting AirNZ (Reply 22): If true, then that's both interesting and very much hypocritical considering the US is consistently condemning China for it's monetary policy concerning the Yen
It's not true, and China's currency is the Yuan/Renimbi. China does not allow the Yuan to float freely. They devalued it sharply in the early 90s to gain an advantage (see graph below).
Quoting WingedMigrator (Reply 20): That would be a 180 degree departure from the last few decades of US monetary policy.
While sometimes it has been stated that way, the policy in reality has been the market should decide. There have been times when there has been government intervention in coordination with other governments, like when the dollar became extremely high during the early 1980s due to high domestic interest rates.
Quoting ANother (Reply 16): While I understand your wishful thinking that the trend has started to change, it remains a fact that some travellers avoid the US, despite the favourable exchange rates.
European tourism is up. Tourism from other countries is down due to security restrictions and probably also due to increased air travel costs on long haul segments from higher fuel prices. But in contrast to the Euro and other European currencies, there has been relatively little depreciation of the dollar against Asian currencies.
Relative currency value in relation to dollar (higher value stronger)
Amazingly, the Japanese yen is actually weaker now than in 2000. That's certainly not going to help tourism figures in relation to 2000.
[Edited 2007-10-01 01:35:45]
ConcordeBoy is a twin supremacist!! He supports quadicide!!
26 RedFlyer: I'm sad to say, most Mexicans think the ONLY thing north of the border is the rich U.S. Gringos and people on the other side of the pond think half t
27 Luisca: Quoting RedFlyer (Reply 26): Quoting Luisca (Reply 23): The sad thing is that the level of cultural illiteracy in this country It goes both ways. Spen
28 Basefly: I am going to the states in a week on an month long trip, and the exchange rate is merely a plus to us. More Danes are going across the pond to visit
29 Indio66: London in particular, is extremely expensive. Most American's do not want to pay 2-3x the cost to visit London vs. NY, Chicago, Miami, LA, SF, etc. Th
30 Scalebuilder: The current exchange rate of the US dollar will go a long way for you. Over the past five years, the US dollar has depreciated 30% against your curre
31 Commavia: As others have said, I don't know which Europeans you're referring to, but from my recent experience, Europeans are coming to the U.S. in droves. The
32 AM744: Mmmm... not really... When you are not a world power you can't afford to be that oblivious of the rest of the world.
33 LTBEWR: Even beyond the exchange rate differences, for most of those in the the EU our costs of almost everything a tourist would buy or pay for may be signif
34 Olle: So, which side is winning of this game? Is it a long term change with to high US salaries and costs that is here to stay or will the USD - Euro move b
35 Scalebuilder: There may be short term winners and losers, but not necessarily any that are long-term based. Boeing customers in Europe are definitely benefiting fr
36 EXAAUADL: Then why did a record number of tourists visit the USA in 2006????
37 Atmx2000: It largely makes no difference what currency oil is purchased in terms of purchasing power. You can always exchange for whatever currency you need. T
38 Viscount724: However many Europeans are still very reluctant to visit the USA due to all the security and delay hassles, not to mention having to provide a lot of
39 MasseyBrown: Travel (an incredible worldwide bargain)continues, what people do changes. I was at an American Express office in the Pentagon City neighborhood Satur
40 Ikramerica: Well, Xenophobia is not the reason. Americans are often connecting from smaller airports to international flights connecting at limited hub locations
41 MrComet: All I know is what I see. In the past, booking a RT ticket to Sarajevo from the states was about $1200 and booking from Sarajevo to the states was abo
42 NG1Fan: Given that your profile states you're in Finance , then you'd better get your currencies right. Yuan is China's currency (also called the RMB or renm
43 TK787: I arrived a week ago MXP-JFK on a Monday afternoon and absolutely no lines, almost no one. I was in an out of the Terminal One in less than 5 mins, m
44 VV701: Airbus also price in US dollars. In reviewing their first quarter 2007-08 results (for the period 1 April to 30 June) BA said: "Non-premium traffic c
45 Scalebuilder: I'm not sure if this is so much the issue. The issue is rather that the cost of many components, and the cost of assembly of the final product is inc
46 VV701: They have not. They have declined because The question is whether what with the delays to the 380 and the declining income from the sale of their dif
47 Atmx2000: But this wasn't about aviation fuel, just currency used for crude oil sales. Yeah, it is shocking the yen is valued less than it was in 2000 in relat
48 Scalebuilder: ?? Euro-zone currencies show much greater stability against the Euro compared to the US dollar. Trade of any kind within the Euro-zone itself is larg
49 VV701: Then why do major oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia tie their own currency to the US Dollar? Of course. Anyone can lock lock themselves into
50 EmmenezMoi: This observation is quite interesting. I think the factor that may be at play here is that, while the cost base of airlines is one of the parameters
51 Atmx2000: My point was that the price of oil in dollars tends to go in the opposite direction of major swings in dollar value so it is which currency it is pri
52 Scalebuilder: To tie your currency to the US dollar is one thing; to trade your oil in US dollars is completely different. This is simply due to the pressure from
53 Atmx2000: No it wouldn't, as the price of oil in Euros would be pretty close to the price of oil today in Euros after converting from US$. The reason is if if
54 Scalebuilder: "Pretty close?" . Factor the volume in, and we're talking billions of $$s. To trade any commodity denominated in a currency that is only depreciating
55 Atmx2000: You can always convert to whatever currency you want. It's irrelevent what price oil is quoted in.
56 Olle: One of the reasons for the oil going up in cost (USD Based) is partly because the producers have got tired of seeing its value of export decreaseing.
57 LAXintl: Here are some updated stats showing how tourist arrivals are up sharply this year much thanks to the weak dollar. Full story (subscription required) h
58 SK736: British inflation, at less than 2.5%, isn't an issue at all.
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