Note that these will be no-frills flights and you'll have to pay more for extras (including carry-on bags), but if you can fly with a small amount of luggage and sacrifice luxury for a few hours, you could potentially save hundreds of dollars. now has six low-cost carriers: Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Allegiant Air, Breeze Airways and Avelo Airlines. It might also be worth flying with a budget airline, especially as the U.S. For example, if you're flying internationally, it could be worth driving or taking a train to a nearby airport to score a better price overall. Consider traveling to an alternative airport for a cheaper fare. Prior to the pandemic flexibility when booking travel was the key to saving money, but now, even more flexibility is needed. If you happen to have a Costco membership, consider visiting the Costco Travel website for more deals. Note that those with AAA or AARP memberships have complimentary travel agent access. Harteveldt told Select he's seen discounts up to 10% off retail prices simply by booking through an agent, especially since "not all fares are publicly available." As a result, consumers are flocking to travel agents as a trusted and reliable source of verifiable information.Īside from their many useful resources, travel agents can also help you save a decent amount of money by booking vacations packages. Travel agents may feel like a relic of the past, but now it seems this underrated industry is experiencing a resurgence, largely due to countries quickly and constantly changing their Covid-19 travel restrictions. If you're hunting for affordable travel in the coming months, here's where you can get started. Now, the 'rules' of finding affordable travel have changed. Two years after the pandemic's economic shockwaves, the airline industry is largely changing its pricing models, according to Harteveldt. She tells Select that in the past, that same ticket would cost roughly $320, expressing her frustration by saying, "for those prices, I should be able to fly internationally round-trip." Anderson iterates her frustration as an avid traveler, saying that because of skyrocketing flight prices and the rising cost of living, she's had to cut back on leisure travel and is only making trips for weddings she's a bridesmaid in. Harteveldt refers to this as, "market forces at work."ĭesiree Anderson, 28, recently booked a round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia and paid $685 for an economy ticket. All of these forces have combined to create rising ticket prices. Airlines are also facing the reality of not having enough pilots and flight attendants to run their flights, as well as higher labor costs. According to IATA, the price of jet fuel has increased nearly 150% in the last year. Additionally, consumers aren't the only ones facing high gas prices at the tank - the airlines are feeling it, too. Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, tells Select that while travel demand has come roaring back, seat capacity is still down 6% compared to pre-pandemic numbers. For starters, there are simply not enough seats to provide for how many people want to fly. Now, with travel restrictions easing across the world and higher operating costs to deal with (like higher jet fuel prices), airlines are salivating to serve travel-deprived consumers - and for a major profit.Īs a result, ticket prices are near all-time highs at the moment. Since the beginning of the pandemic, many airlines have been drowning in debt and struggling to return to a state of profitability.
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