bigvuth

Airline tickets increased compared to let's say four years ago. I ask because I want to travel then.

WorldLux

On average, my airline tickets cost ~30 to 50% less than four years ago.

Legacygt

The past 4 years is essentially meaningless if trying to forecast the upcoming 4 years, especially for cost. Way too many factors here.

bigvuth

Well Legacy just to get an idea how different have they been compared to four years ago?

84fiero

You want to travel 4 years ago? Hope you have a flux capacitor and a DeLoreon lined up.

WorldLux

There's no point in it. Nobody can look into the future. The general trend of ticket prices over many decades is downwards.

Big4Flyer

Speak for yourself

WorldLux

Nice to meet you, Mr(s) "Nobody". Any solid investment advice?

Efrem

What makes you think they've increased at all? Some routes have gone up. Others have gone down. It also depends on what currency you pay in (FT is global; you didn't say where you are) and what country/continent you depart from (trans-Atlantic travel is often cheaper Europe-North America-Europe than NA-E-NA).

Aside from that, airlines have gotten better at using "big data" to control the number of low-fare tickets they offer to just what they need to fill the plane, not necessarily to everyone who shows up 14 or 30 days before the flight, so someone might perceive an increase where there hasn't been one. This puts a higher premium on advance planning if you're after the lowest fares (and can live with the increasingly absurd fees and restrictions that come with them).

pinniped

Varies dramatically by route. Some routes are more competitive now than they were four years ago. Others less.

If I were you, I'd time-travel back to 1999 or so. In my travel experience, that's when the best deals of all time were available when you factor in the airfare, the value of the miles earned, the upgrade rules/availability, the common promotions/bonuses of the day, and the value of a basic status like AA Platinum. Airlines had just discovered Internet "instant purchase" fares and some of them were awesome.

Of course, even that is route-specific: my perspective then was buying a lot of ORD-LHR roundtrips for $350-400 and riding at least one of the two directions in J. Today, I could probably work hard and find a lower (inflation-adjusted) fare, but the upgrade rules are vastly different than they once were.

pon18n

I haven't really noticed anything beyond the fluctuations within the pricing already exists.

Of note, however, is that low cost airline became increasingly relevant in air travels.

lhrsfo

For me, economy fares hit an all time low in the years following the banking crisis, rose to a peak two years ago and are now declining. Business fares are still low.

LondonElite

Leaving aside the annoyingly vague title, this question is pointless unless you are trying to do some research into fare price development in the context of an increasingly deregulated air travel market. But four years ago? What do you hope to gain from this? You need to pay today's prices!

bigvuth

Well let's say if I want to travel to Bangkok or Sydney how much have prices changed compared to 3-4 years ago? I just thought I'd be more specific.

LondonElite

From where?