Flight Prices Surged 42% This Year & Are About to Get Even More Expensive
The cost of traveling doesn't seem to be going down.
Welp. It will be another expensive holiday travel season. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, airline ticket costs increased by 42.9% between September 2021 and September 2022. And unfortunately, the increase doesn't seem like it will be entirely temporary.
Hopper reports that airline tickets will be 22% more expensive this holiday season compared to 2019 and 43% higher than in 2021. That prediction aligns nearly precisely with the Bureau of Labor Statistics's report on the price difference between September 2021 and 2022. And flight tickets aren't the only commodity set to hurt our pockets this holiday season.
The cost of eating food at home has increased by 13% since September 2022, while gasoline prices have increased by 18.8%. This will not be a period when it feels like your dollar can stretch very far at all.
Hopper additionally reports that travelers can expect to pay about $350 for a Thanksgiving flight if they find a good deal, while reasonable airfare for Christmas will average at around $463. Both of those figures are for domestic flights. International travel will average $795 per ticket for Thanksgiving and $1,300 for Christmas. Hopper has also mapped the most popular Christmas and Thanksgiving destinations below:
The key to getting the best deal? Book travel as soon as you can.
"According to recent AAA booking data, most travelers book one or two months before Thanksgiving and still get an average ticket price. However, those who book closer to the holiday—less than a month before —get the best deals," AAA shared in a report on best travel times for Thanksgiving. "The exception is waiting until Thanksgiving week itself to buy, when the average ticket price creeps back up."
Opheli Garcia Lawler is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.