Tuesday, March 22, 2022
The pain at the pump is turning into pain at the gate for air travellers as prices for domestic flights have spiked a whopping 36 percent this year amid an increase in demand after nearly two years of COVID lockdowns and soaring fuel prices, recent data shows.
Round-trip flights within the US currently cost around $300 on average, making for a 36 percent spike from the beginning of this year, while being roughly equal to 2019 figures, travel company told a news media on Friday.
And airline CEOs have recently reported that demand for flying is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
In past years, consumers would normally see a three-month delay between rising fuel prices and ticket fares, however, airlines have routinely begun changing prices at a far quicker pace in light of the passing of the most recent COVID-19 Omicron wave, experts told a news media.
As the price of fuel has increased, ticket prices could see even higher costs in the coming months.
An increase in demand for air travel has caused flight costs to spike as well, with the airline rush causing a backup of available plane seats, making booking flights early essential again for travellers looking to fly on a budget.
In the fall, United’s CEO had predicted that higher jet fuel costs would drive up ticket prices, even before Russia invaded Ukraine and disrupted industry fuel costs.
Last week, the President of Delta, Glen William Hauenstein, said that the airline was confident it can easily offset fuel costs, especially due to the fact that current demand for flying is so high.
Tags: airlines news, COVID-19 pandemic
