Airfares Are Soaring. Can You Still Score Cheap Tickets?
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Here's your money briefing for Tuesday, April 19th. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal. Been to an airport lately? Things were almost as busy now as they were pre-pandemic. But as people grow more comfortable with flying again, they're finding out that prices are soaring too.
People are traveling again, but they really can't escape the long arm of inflation. Now, depending on how high the fares go, they might start to get turned off. But at least right now, it's not stopping them.
Coming up, our travel reporter Allison Poley will join us to discuss what's behind the sharp rise in airfares and how travelers can still score discounts. That's after the break.
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If you're planning a trip flying the friendly skies, be ready for a very unfriendly experience for your wallet. The cost of airfare rose 11% between February and March, and it's up even more over the past year. So is it still possible to book cheap flights? WSJ Travel Reporter Allison Poley has been digging into the numbers, and she joins us with more. Hey Allison, thanks so much for being with us.
Thanks for having me.
So, Alison, what's going on here? Obviously, we're seeing prices for all sorts of things go up a lot these days, but this is an especially steep jump. What's causing the price of airfare to go up so much?
The main factor is rising demand. There is a lot of pent-up desire to travel, so airlines are able to charge more. And the airlines are also facing rising jet fuel costs, so they can pass off that cost to customers because the demand is so high.
Now, the cost of airfare tends to go higher and lower at different times of the year. How does this recent jump in prices fit in with seasonal trends?
We're in spring break travel time right now. So ahead of that, people were purchasing flights, really excited to travel for that vacation period. And we're also right ahead of what's expected to be a really busy summer travel season when airfare goes up as well. So all of this pent up demand is coming at a time when people typically take vacations and are really eager to travel.
Okay, so bottom line this for us, what effect is inflation having on consumers who are booking flights?
People are traveling again, but they really can't escape the long arm of inflation. So Adobe data shows that online spending on domestic flights in March was up 28% over 2019 levels, but the actual bookings were up 12%. So that's a strong reflection of inflation's role.
So does that suggest that airlines run a risk of turning off passengers? We've seen surveys indicating that rising inflation, especially at the gas pump, is causing people to reconsider travel plans. So how do airlines feel comfortable raising fares?
People are really eager to go on vacation. There was a recent survey from Morning Consult that found roughly 70% of Americans are comfortable going on vacation, and about 48% are comfortable flying. Now, depending on how high the fares go, they might start to get turned off, but at least right now, it's not stopping them.
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