Thanksgiving has always been one of the busiest and most expensive times to travel in the US. However, this Thanksgiving season looks like it will be the most expensive on record. With demand exceeding supply for air travel, many US passengers find themselves paying significantly more for airfare than they did before the pandemic. Prices of other travel necessities, such as fuel and rental cars, well exceed historic Thanksgiving prices promising that holiday travel will not come cheap.
Record prices
The record travel costs can be found in every part of this year's travel experience. All services are notably more expensive than before the pandemic, from airfare to luggage fees. The average cost for a round-trip domestic flight in the US this Thanksgiving season is $350. This marks a 7% increase over 2019. The two most expensive travel days in the US this week are predicted to be Wednesday, November 23rd, and Sunday, November 27th, as these are also the busiest.
This Holiday season is shaping to be one of the busiest for air travel in US history. For the past several decades, demand for air travel during the holidays has steadily increased as the nation's populous has grown and technology has advanced, making air travel more affordable and accessible. In 2019 air travel demand reached record highs, as predicted by the continuous growth of the air transit industry. When the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world in 2020, air travel became a thing of the past for many as strict travel restrictions were put in place to prevent the spread of the virus.
In 2021, air travel began to resume as many restrictions were lifted; however, later outbreaks occurred, leading governments to reinstate select restrictions temporarily. While air transit services were busier than during the holidays of 2020, the holiday season of 2021 saw far fewer passengers than that of 2019. Fast-forward one year, and air travel demand has nearly returned to full strength. Passenger traffic levels continue to trail closely behind those of 2019. These high demand levels that followed the pandemic have led to a dramatic increase in ticket prices as demand has begun to outweigh supply.
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Limited supply
Demand for air travel has increased at a much faster rate than airlines are able to supply. While demand is still lower this year than in 2019, many airlines lack the necessary resources to meet the current demand. During the pandemic, many airlines retired assets, including aircraft and crew members, to cut costs. Many also laid off staff members in departments other than the aircraft itself, from office staff to ground personnel. This left companies scrambling to find enough workers to meet the growing demand that came in 2022.
The larger of the two shortages between staff and aircraft for most airlines is staff, as hundreds of US aircraft sit idle in storage with no crews to operate them. This limited supply is one of the reasons airfare is more expensive this Thanksgiving than it was only three years ago when demand was even higher. Another reason for the increase in ticket prices is the increased operating costs. Everything from fuel to aircraft parts has increased significantly in cost since 2019. To account for these added costs, airlines have raised ticket prices accordingly.
The record high airfare and associated travel costs for passengers this Thanksgiving is a combination of several factors. While Thanksgiving is one of the most expensive times to travel, airfare prices this Christmas season are even higher, with the average ticket price for a round-trip domestic flight already at $463 per person.
What do you think of this record-high airfare? Do you plan to travel by plane this Thanksgiving? Let us know in the comments below.