Travelers finally return to the skies, but rising demand coincides with high oil prices, driven by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
As a result, airlines have to pay more for aircraft fuel and are shifting some of these increased costs to consumers.
Gina Kramer and her daughter Frankie recently flew to Southern California to visit a family they hadn’t seen in three years, in part because they didn’t feel safe traveling during the pandemic.
“So it’s going to be a kind of family reunion,” Frankie told CBS News’ Danya Bacchus.
The trip has a cost for the Kramers and other families who are re-prioritizing the trips.
Airline ticket prices are rising, according to data from Hopper, an analytics company that tracks changes in air fares.
Prices continue to rise
The average cost of the national round trip ticket was $ 330 in March, 40% more than at the beginning of this year. The airfare is expected to continue to rise 10% until May, when a return ticket will cost, on average, $ 360, according to Hopper.
Gina Kramer experienced this first-hand while browsing online ticket prices, noting that the longer the booking, the higher the prices.
“And if you miss a window, two days later, the prices were like $ 100 more,” he said.
However, higher prices are not expected to deter travelers. A survey by American Express Travel found that 72% of Americans plan to travel more this year than last.
This increase in demand is driving up the prices of almost everything related to travel, including hotel rooms.
“National bookings are rising, hotel rates are rising near 2019 levels,” said CBS News travel advisor Peter Greenberg. “People now value travel as an experience they want to maintain.”
Airlines are also responding to the rise in travel. JetBlue recently cut 27 routesmany of which were added during the pandemic to the hot spots of Florida and Mexico, when Americans were more limited where they could go.
With higher fuel prices and travel to Europe again at stake, some of the routes no longer make financial sense for the airline.
“Demand for these sites is declining as people feel more comfortable going to the cities,” said Willis Orlando, a flight specialist at Scott’s Cheap Flights, a website that offers airfare deals. “If I were in the airline’s pricing department deciding which routes are profitable, I’d say we might not need to bend so much in South Florida.”
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