Airfare is going up, but it is demand that is fueling the increase more than an increase in the cost of the fuel. Pent up “I want to get on a plane and go somewhere” demand.
“Airfares will go up,” says Madhu Unnikrishnan, Editor of Airline Weekly. “But not by as much as people fear.” Chief financial officers of the major airlines recently told a conference fares would rise in the low single digits for summer travel, but not by enough to discourage vacation plans. A ticket purchased a month ago may have been 5% lower, he suggests, and a ticket purchased next month may be 5% higher.
The price increases and packed flights are not saving the airlines yet. Business travelers haven’t returned, and that’s where the airlines make most of their money. The long-term “Zoom Effect” is still TBD. The sharp increase in oil brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t a factor in pricing: it’s being driven by demand.
But for vacationers, Unnikrishnan has one suggestion. “Buy your ticket now because the airfares will go up a little. The other factor is that there is a lot of pent up demand and airlines expect people to take long-delayed, and summer demand is going to go through the roof. It’ll not only be that prices are slightly higher but there may be a run on flights, and you may not be able to get where you want to go when you want to go.”
photo: Getty Images