Flight prices have been all over the place lately – though to many travelers scouring for trips this summer or fall, they seem to only be going up and up. We've got good news on that front: They're dropping again.
The latest federal inflation report released Wednesday shows that, after several months of small yet steady increases, average airfare fell by 2.6% from March into April. That bucks the overall trend of inflation documented in the monthly Consumer Price Index, which showed a nearly 5% increase across the board. In fact, the drop in airfare prices was among one of the biggest bright spots in an otherwise sour inflation report.
Of course, this doesn't mean that the unbelievable pandemic airfare bargains travelers ate up for years are back in the mix. But a decrease is a decrease … and that's worth celebrating!
Yet those numbers are no surprise to us here at Thrifty Traveler. Our team searches all day, every day for the cheapest domestic and international flights to send to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members. And there have been some undeniable trends (and amazingly cheap flight deals) that back up these big-picture inflation numbers.
Keep in mind: Airfare is not a monolith. Just because flight prices dropped 2.6% doesn't mean all flights are 2.6% cheaper. There are tens of millions of individual fares out there, each with their own price. Some go up, some go down … and some go way, way down.
One trend is undeniable: As spring and then summer has drawn closer, we've repeatedly seen airlines cut slash prices on many routes for travel in the next two or three months. That means fares up to amazing Canadian destinations like Calgary (YYC) and nearby Banff National Park that once cost $800 or more roundtrip have dropped to $300 total – and sometimes even less!
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That's especially true domestically, where we've even seen the return of sub-$100 domestic trips . That was unthinkable last summer when domestic flight prices were through the roof. And yet we've seen jaw-dropping, $96 fares to destinations like New Orleans (MSY), Asheville (AVL), Myrtle Beach (MYR), and several more fantastic cities this summer and fall.
Heading into this summer, it's flights over to Europe where many travelers are seeing eye-popping prices. And yet as summer has drawn near, more great deals have surfaced. That includes this great nonstop fare to Reykjavik (KEF) this summer and fall from Boston (BOS) for less than half the normal price.
We've even seen a resurgence of cheap flights to Hawaii – and not just for a trip this summer, but through the fall and into early winter 2023!
Bottom Line
We've said it before and we'll say it again (and again and again): Cheap flights haven't gone anywhere.
We're not back to normal just yet, but after watching prices seemingly skyrocket earlier this spring, things are moving in the right direction. While a drop of under 3% in average flight prices may not sound massive, there's a serious upshot for any traveler looking for bargains behind those numbers.
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