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Ready for some good news? The return of domestic airfare for less than $300 is imminent!
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the airline industry expects a steep drop in prices with the arrival of fall, even the ability to score domestic roundtrip airfare for less than $300. An average airfare of $298 can be expected in autumn, according to travel booking app Hopper, for the same flights that averaged $400 or more in May.
Airfare usually does drop about 10 to 15 percent from summer to fall anyway, but this represents a welcome step-down of 25 percent. And it goes without saying that currently we are paying far more for flights than we were pre-pandemic – 19 percent more than we did in 2019.
And while business travel is still lurching to get back to its pre-pandemic levels, that’s actually good news for vacation travelers as it increases the deals available from airlines trying to fill seats. Covid cases, which can also make many passengers reluctant to fly, has also played a role in decreasing flight costs for the fall.
It's not all rainbows and butterflies: The WSJ also reports that routes that were canceled through smaller US airports are probably not coming back.
The trend, however, is back towards fewer delays and cancellations, and some discount airlines are swooping in to fill the gaps left by larger carriers’ withdrawing service from smaller airports. Let’s cross our fingers and watch those fares!