The prices of airplane seats have dropped by 24 pc since the peak period of May 2022
The era of skyhigh prices for air travel, especially international travel, may soon be coming to an end, or so says a new data analysis.
A report by a flight booking website, Going.com, says that amid the post-pandemic “revenge travel” rush of 2022 and early 2023, airfares had soared due to high jet fuel prices, lack of adequate manpower for airlines and airports as well as general inflation.
However, that peak is already past, according to a fresh data evaluation conducted by Going.com, which says that average airfare costs have fallen back below pre-pandemic norms. Its data indicated that the prices of airplane seats have dropped by 24 pc since the peak period of May 2022.
In a press statement, the company says that while domestic airfares in United States began dropping down towards normal in Spring 2023, the cost of international travel continued to sit at sky-high levels as the busy summer season approached.
It says that now international fare prices are falling, with roundtrip flights from the US to Paris going for USD 387 and as far as New Zealand for USD 686.
“Looking forward, we don’t anticipate any major swings in demand outside of typical peak seasons like the summer or the winter holidays like we saw in the last 18 months where post-pandemic pent-up travel demand drove prices upwards,” says the press statement.
The company adds that an investigation into the average price of airfare found that a downward trend has prevailed for 13 of the past 18 months. It says that presently, it has seen a 12 pc reduction in cost compared to corresponding figures from last year.
Economists are attributing this favorable shift to a combination of factors, including that there seem to be fewer people traveling for leisure purposes, while business travel still hasn’t bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.
