Flight Prices Could DROP Soon…But You'll Want to Act Fast

If you’ve traveled anywhere this summer, you may have had to increase your budget to account for rising costs in airfare and gas.

Traveling by air has been unpredictable lately, with passengers experiencing delays and cancellations in high numbers, all in the midst of record-high travel demand. Many travelers are crossing their fingers for airfare prices to drop soon and they may soon get their wish — one travel app is predicting a significant price decrease soon. Find out how this could affect you and how to take advantage of the timing, too.

Travel app Hopper is currently predicting that domestic airfare will drop to $286 this August, which is a 25% decrease compared to May 2022. Although prices are expected to rise again in October and November, Hopper predicts that airfare will be $300 or below through September.

Hopper notes that the factors affecting airfare costs include jet fuel prices, demand, capacity, and disruption. Jet fuel prices have increased by 90% compared to 2021 and they typically account for around 15-30% of an airline’s expenses.

While demand for flights remains high, some of the growth has slowed as summer vacations are coming to an end. This drop in demand could account for lower prices in August and September.

Right now, airlines are maintaining flight capacity at around 95% of levels from 2019, and this continues to be the status quo as airlines expect more delays and cancellations in the near future. Over 5,000 flights per DAY were delayed or canceled domestically in the last week of July, which indicates that issues such as staffing shortages could still be disrupting the airline industry.

If you have travel plans in August or September, you might be able to take advantage of lower flight prices, but we’ve already talked about how booking early for the holiday season is KEY. Flights are expected to increase in price AND fill quickly as demand increases for holiday travelers, and delays and cancellations could continue.

Considering our experience with lower crowds last August, it might be a good time to take a trip to Disney World! So if you’re traveling to Disney World soon, we recommend checking out the following posts so that you’re as prepared as possible:

As usual, keep following AllEars for more travel news, tips, and more!