As the dust settles on the collapse of XL, Britain’s third-biggest holiday company, rival firms are rushing to plug the holiday gap. And it looks as if their opportunism will hold down prices – until next summer, at least.

One survey had claimed that package prices for autumn 2008 would soar by as much as 18% as late deals evaporated, but airlines last week stepped in to announce new flights. Even in the Caribbean, where XL ran six routes, operators expect to see bargains this winter. Steve Garley, of Tropical Sky, said: “I don’t think prices will rise as a result of XL collapsing, because BA and Virgin still have so many unsold seats, and hoteliers in the Caribbean are prepared to cut their rates in order to fill rooms. If people are willing to avoid Christmas and New Year, and book about six weeks ahead, they will find good deals.”

On short-haul routes, EasyJet has announced additional flights to Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Egypt and Turkey. Ryanair, which continues to add new routes out of the UK, insisted that it will keep cutting fares in order to “persuade the public to continue flying”.

Monarch Holidays said that it plans to increase flights to Greece and Sharm el Sheikh, in Egypt, targeting routes that had been served by XL. It is also poised to announce a new charter flight from Gatwick to Grenada and Tobago, starting on December 17.

Passengers looking to fly from regional airports, however, are likely to lose out. XL flights out of Bristol, East Midlands, Newcastle and Humberside are unlikely to be replaced in the immediate future, according to Bob Atkinson, of Travelsupermarket. com. “Those people will probably have to fly out of Gatwick, Manchester or Glasgow instead,” he said.

Come next summer, operators agree that the total number of holidays on sale will fall, probably by about 5%. Nick Longman, director of distribution at Thomson and First Choice, thinks that average prices will rise by about 7%, while Abta says there will “definitely” be fewer last-minute price cuts than in previous years.

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