Airline ticket prices fell sharply in July after peaking in recent months, fueled by high costs, high demand and a limited variety of flights.
Fares fell 7.8 percent in July in comparison with June, helping to ease overall inflation. Aviation experts said they expect prices to proceed to drop into the autumn as jet fuel prices and demand ease.
Fares peaked in May when many travelers began confirming summer travel plans. After greater than two years of exercising caution, many individuals took longer trips this summer, which is usually the busiest season for air travel. At the identical time, many airlines cut the variety of flights on their summer schedules to scale back the chance of mass delays and cancellations due to weather and staffing problems especially around holidays and other peak travel days. Fares were also driven up by high labor and fuel costs.
The drop in fares last month coincided with a decline in U.S. jet fuel prices, which were down about 25 percent at the top of last month, from their peak at the top of April, in response to the Energy Information Administration.
Flight prices typically drop from late August through mid-fall as summer travel eases, in response to Hopper, a travel booking and price-tracking app. Fares are expected to average $286 this month, down as much as 25 percent from May, Hopper said. Fares are expected to remain below $300 through September, before rising again, to a peak of $373 in November, up 24 percent from the identical month in 2019, Hopper said.
Despite broader economic concerns, airline executives have said in recent weeks that they haven’t seen a considerable decline in bookings beyond usual seasonal trends.
