Do Americans dream of longer holidays?

When it comes to holidays, Europeans and Americans are separated by more than just the Atlantic Ocean.

For a start, the average European in full-time employment can expect about five weeks' paid leave a year, while US workers have no guaranteed legal right to any time off at all.

Then there's the air travel industry in the two regions. Both have seen the rise of low-cost airlines, but on either side of the pond established carriers are adopting different strategies in order to survive.

If global travel trend-watchers are to be believed, the first of these two differences is starting to shrink. But on the second point, the disparity looks set to increase.

At the annual World Travel Market (WTM) gathering of travel industry movers and shakers in London this week, "the American Dream Part 2" was one of the rallying slogans, highlighting the possibility that people in the US might now be able to enjoy the fruits of their labour by taking more holidays.

This year's edition of the trade fair's Global Trends Report led off with the new opportunities offered by some US companies that are allowing employees to have unmonitored or even "unlimited" holidays.

America’s national vacation problem

Admittedly, only 1% of US companies have brought in this policy so far. But given that, according to the US Travel Association, 40% of Americans do not use up all their holiday entitlement of typically two weeks per year, while 13% take none at all, there is plenty of room for change.

"More holidays would be a win-win for the travel industry and employers," says the report, "with benefits for both being seen, coupled with an improved work/life balance for employees."

Of course, once you've decided to go on holiday and your boss has agreed, getting there is half the fun - or half the battle, depending on how you look at it.

And if you're going by air, it's increasingly likely that you've chosen to fly with one of the low-cost carriers, such as Europe's Ryanair or Easyjet.

As Rafael Schvartzman of global airline trade body Iata told the WTM on Tuesday, the low-cost sector now accounts for 40% of European air traffic.

This has had consequences for the old guard of "legacy" airlines, many of which are seen as national flag carriers in their native territories.

In London, for example, Tube passengers are thoroughly used to seeing posters for cheap flights with British Airways, which is determined to compete with its budget rivals.

For many in the airline industry, particularly in Europe, this kind of price war is inevitable. Some airlines are trying what they call a "hybrid" model, aiming to match the low-cost carriers on ticket prices while not going as far as to charge separately for every on-board service.

Icelandair is one of them. It boasts a 2% share of the North Atlantic market, running flights that link US and European cities via its hub in Reykjavík. It makes no extra charge for check-in baggage, but it does charge a fee for its in-flight wi-fi services, which it is rolling out to its entire fleet of planes.

Its senior vice-president of marketing and sales, Helgi Mar Bjorgvinsson, told the WTM that all established airlines were following that approach to some extent.

"Most of the legacy carriers are introducing 'Light' fares that have charges for luggage," he said. "So everyone is gradually moving towards the middle."

And indeed, the concept of the Light fare does seem to have spread to many Europe-based airlines. Alitalia, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France all now use the term in their publicity material, often describing it as a "new fare concept for Europe".

But at the same time, the traditional flag carriers have been trying to cut their costs with restructuring plans that have prompted angry reactions from employees.

As air travel consultant John Strickland put it: "Lufthansa is set for another strike, while Air France has workers tearing the shirts off the backs of managers."

And airlines within the EU face other disadvantages that are not shared by the US. Iata's Mr Schvartzman complains that the European air travel market is "over-regulated", adding: "We have freedom of movement, but we still have borders in the air."

At the same time, consolidation in the industry has led to airline tie-ups in Europe, such as the Air France-KLM deal of 2003 and the British Airways-Iberia merger in 2010, but the market has remained fragmented.

In the EU, the top five airlines have 60% of the market between them, but in the US, that figure is more like 90%.

So how are US airlines coping with the rise of budget travel? The shake-up in the country's air industry began in 2008, when Delta, the third-largest US airline, took over Northwest, then the fifth-biggest in the US.

Delta's senior vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Nat Pieper, remembers those days as a time when his airline was under pressure from the low-cost carriers - not just on price, but also on product quality.

Now he says Delta's future lies in being "a carrier of choice", with better service, seating, in-flight entertainment and loyalty programmes, rather than just trying to compete on price.

"I don't see anything that Delta is doing that's leading to a hybrid solution, " he told the WTM.

"We're trying to elevate above the low-cost arena and above the hybrid arena. We need to do what resonates with our customers and we offer a product that's competitive with anyone in the globe."

So if Americans manage to get away from their desks and they want to fly beyond their shores, where else can they go?

Well, another of the WTM's global trend predictions is that Iran is set to become a new holiday hotspot, offering what the report calls "scope for great adventure".

Top-class hotels are apparently in short supply, and no foreign brands currently operate there after years of international isolation. However, you may not actually need a hotel booking.

"The sharing economy has already arrived," says the report, "with an estimated 50,000 Iranian hosts registered on Couchsurfing.com, despite a lack of government enthusiasm for the service."

But take plenty of cash with you, because "online or credit card payments are virtually impossible inside Iran". Intrepid souls, make your bookings now...