The American aviation industry is in turmoil. Within a span of just a few weeks, airlines went from the height of profitability with full flights to, by the end of March, facing financial pressure due to obliterated flight schedules at home and abroad. Now, for travel through even the early summer, US airlines are offering flights for as low as $16 one-way.

Airlines are slashing prices on domestic flights

On transcontinental hops, airlines are significantly reducing flight costs. For example, there is this one-way fare between Baltimore and Los Angeles on Spirit Airlines for $14. If you connect, American is offering it for $27.

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A one-way hop from BWI to LAX for $14. Screenshot: Google Flights

Flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Los Angeles comes in at $19 nonstop on JetBlue,

FLL to LAX
Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles for $19 nonstop. Screenshot: Google Flights

Atlanta to Los Angeles is clocking in at $39 one-way.

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Delta is offering low fares from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Screenshot: Google Flights

One-way flights from Boston to Miami are coming in at about $16.

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American Airlines from Boston to Miami for $16. Screenshot: Google Flights

And, United has some $29 fares from Houston to Newark-Liberty.

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Houston to Newark for $29 on United. Screenshot: Google Flights

All of these flights are one-way. However, roundtrip tickets are coming in at just around (or under) double a one-way ticket on those routes. Most of these prices run through to early June.

What are airlines doing?

It is no secret that airlines are having plenty of trouble trying to fill planes. TSA numbers go to show just that. And, an old trick up airlines' sleeves is to reduce fares on flights to try and fill them. But, this is a new low even for airlines like Spirit. However, in the airline world, this is not much different to the measures Chinese airlines took.

Airport security
The TSA screened only 87,534 passengers on April 14th. Photo: Getty Images

Is this a good time to fly?

Regardless of your own health concerns, now is a bad time to consider nonessential travel. A number of places have shut down restaurants, bars and tourist attractions, and some hotels are not able to offer guests much more than a room.

Spirit Airlines
A Spirit Airlines plane at the gate in Baltimore. Photo: Jay Singh - Simple Flying

However, for those who may be stuck trying to find a way back home, booking a new one-way flight for a low cost might be a major source of relief. For Americans abroad who are limited to flying into certain gateways, this may prove to be a saving grace after enduring a number of additional costs.

Overall

The aforementioned domestic flights are just a few in a long list of routes where airlines are cutting fares. The likelihood of such fares existing after the passing of this crisis is quite minimal. While airlines likely will not make a lot of money with low fares, it may be a way to at least recover some costs. After all, an empty seat earns an airline nothing.

Why do you think US airlines are offering such low fares on domestic flights? Let us know in the comments!