Good News: Domestic Travel Prices Drop in June 2022
Jackie Reddy June 16, 2022
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According to research by travel app Hopper, the cost of a domestic round-trip ticket dropped from $410 in mid-May to $390 this month. As the site notes, this is the first time in 2022 that prices have declined in accordance with conventional seasonal trends, where travel costs peak in May or June and decline in September and October.
Hopper also observed that, as the Omicron wave of COVID-19 eased in January 2022, prices for domestic fares rose by $170 in the four months to April and that the drop in fares over the last month coincides with a slowing in consumer demand. However, researchers for the airfare search tool add that domestic fares in 2022 are 18 percent higher than those in 2019.
Domestic Fares Drop, but International Fares Are Increasing
In terms of international fares, Hopper indicates that these are now averaging $1,075, up by 22 percent from 2021. The site added that, while international fares are higher in comparison to those in 2019, fares this year are comparable to those observed in 2018.
Hopper’s analysis pointed to a shift in demand for fares to Europe over Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. It also observed a marked eight percent increase in international bookings on June 10, 2022, following the CDC announcement that it would cease COVID testing requirements for passengers arriving into the US as of June 12.
These changes in fares take place against an uncertain time in the wider air travel industry and Hopper posits that, with key factors – such as the price of jet fuel – continuing to fluctuate, travelers across the US should prepare themselves for higher ticket fares. The cost of aviation fuel, it notes, is double that of 2019 levels while domestic airline capacity remains low, at and under 94 percent. On the international front, seat capacity on flights departing from the US is hovering at around 82 percent of the level seen back in 2019.
On the back of this struggle to rebuild capacity, many carriers have revealed schedule changes and cancellations for later this summer, with Hopper noting that its users are increasingly concerned about the possibility that any disruption may cause.
How is average price calculated here? Could it be that people are choosing less expensive tickets and destinations because of the bad economy?
Right - might be more of the same "hedonic substitution" that the BLS uses to pretend there's no inflation so they don't have to bump social security and military pensions.