Americans planning to take to the skies this summer can expect lower prices on domestic flights but pricier fares for international trips, according to travel booking app Hopper.
The average ticket price for a flight within the U.S. will be $306, down from $376 last summer, while peaking at about $349 around the July 4 holiday, Hopper . By comparison, a ticket overseas will cost between $1,000 and $2,000 because more Americans are itching to visit foreign destinations like Rome, Seoul and Istanbul, Hopper said.
"Many people who couldn't travel during the pandemic decided that is the one thing they really wanted to do when lockdowns ended," Clint Henderson, managing editor at travel news website The Points Guy, told CBS MoneyWatch."People have been saving their travel dollars — and points and miles — for several years, and they are ready to spend on seeing new places. Some folks haven't seen their families in several years and they are traveling now, too.
The average ticket to Europe will cost around $1,100 each, up sharply from $861 in 2019, while average prices to Asia will top $1,800 per ticket, up from $1,121 in 2019, according to Hopper. The average air ticket to Africa or the Middle East will cost around $1,454, up from $1,236 in 2019, and a trip to Australia and surrounding nations is expected to average $1,709, up from $1,128 in 2019, the app predicts.
Three reasons explain it's getting more expensive to fly overseas, said Hopper economist Hayley Berg. First, the cost of jet fuel has jumped since the pandemic, with airlines passing along some of the added cost to travelers. The cost of jet fuel this month is about $91 a barrel, compared to $15 a barrel in May 2020, according to International Air Transport Association