Simon Calder’s 32 years on the road as travel correspondent for The Independent

Simon Calder, travel correspondent for *The Independent*, marked his final day on 29 May 2026 after 32 years on the job, spanning 1994 to 2026. His early years were defined by challenges: writing on a bulky laptop, manually filing stories via Soviet-era hotel phones in places like Novosibirsk, and navigating limited communication tools that slowed submissions to 180 words per minute. Travel in the mid-1990s was far costlier and riskier than today, with flights like Virgin Atlantic’s £179 round-trip to the U.S. considered bargains. Calder’s strict ‘no freebies’ policy at *The Independent* kept expenses tight, but even student discounts couldn’t offset high European fares—London to Glasgow cost £100 return by air. When easyJet announced £29 one-way fares between Luton and Glasgow in November 1995, Calder dismissed its business model as flawed, citing no travel agent sales, unallocated seating, and charges for tea and shortbread. The UK’s railways were also in turmoil, with John Major’s government pushing privatization in 1996. Calder covered the launch of Britain’s first privatized rail service, which ironically began as a bus replacement route from Fishguard to Cardiff. His skepticism about budget airlines like easyJet and Ryanair proved premature, as both later thrived despite initial doubts. Calder’s career included navigating Soviet-era infrastructure, questioning emerging travel trends, and adapting to rapid technological shifts. His retrospective highlights how travel journalism evolved alongside aviation and communication advancements. The article underscores the resilience of entrepreneurs like Stelios Haji-Ioannou, whose easyJet defied early skepticism to become a global force.