Airline ticket prices have risen 40 percent since the beginning of 2022
The cost of flying is ready for takeoff, and there are few indications that the trend will curtail any time soon as high fuel prices, pilot shortages and booming demand push ticket prices to new highs.
According to travel website Hopper, the average cost of airfare for U.S. travelers in April rose to $330 for a single domestic round-trip ticket—a 40-percent increase from prices in early January and the highest figure the company has recorded since it began collecting cost data. Meanwhile, international travel has returned to pre-pandemic prices of about $810 per round-trip.
Hopper's projections expect prices to increase a further 10 percent by the end of May, with average domestic round-trip fares topping out at about $360 before taking a dip as travel demand decreases with the arrival of fall. In the meantime, air carriers are excitedly eyeing the current "strong revenue environment" brought about by high fuel prices, the lifting COVID-19 mandates and increased labor costs spurred on by a shortage of pilots in the United States.
