Taylor Swift fans are causing a spike in European air travel, United says

Air travelers, are you ready for it? The official kickoff for summer this weekend is going to get even busier, thanks in part to Taylor Swift. United Airlines revealed that demand for flights to Lisbon, Portugal, where Swift is performing for her “Eras Tour,” shot up 25% for this weekend compared to last summer — and the surge is going to continue for the next few months as fans flock to Europe to for concert tickets that are thousands of dollars cheaper compared to the US. Bookings to other European cities where’s she’s performing in the coming weeks, including Madrid, Edinburgh and Dublin, are also surging, a United representative told CNN. United’s flights to Milan and Munich for Swift’s shows in July have captured the biggest increase in demand – upwards of 45% more passengers compared to last year. The airline flies to all of these cities from its East Coast hubs at Newark and Dulles, with some other destinations additionally linked from its other hubs in San Francisco, Denver, Chicago’s O’Hare and Houston. Delta Air Lines said demand is on the rise for flights to her European tour. The airline said it is prepared as it flies its largest-ever international summer schedule by adding destinations and restoring routes that were cut because of the pandemic. Both airlines are bracing for record-breaking summer travel overall. Delta and United said it will fly nearly 3m people during Memorial Day weekend, lasting from Thursday to next Monday, a 5% increase from last year. Airlines for America, a group representing major US airlines, predicts record numbers of passengers this summer, with carriers expected to fly 270m passengers — up 6% from last year.<br/>