Given the many available cheap traveloptions, including cheapairplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, cheap auto rentals, discounttravel deals, cheapdeals, and cheap vacation packages aswell as the fact that experts are forecasting higher airfares by next summer,dont procrastinate and put off your vacation until next summer.
The good news is that airline ticket prices have beenfalling for over a year. The averagedomestic round trip ticket in late 2015 was the cheapest since 2010, wheninflation is taken into account.
Ticket prices have continued to drop this year. Not only are domestic tickets cheaper, butpopular international vacation destinations such as Europe are more affordable.
This continuing fall in airfares is largely due to thelarge drop in oil prices since mid-2014. In response to saving billions of dollars on jet fuel, airlines haveadded domestic and international seats faster than travel demand has increased.
While major airlines have announced plans to reduce thisoversupply, such changes do not occur overnight, meaning airfares will remaincheap for this summers peak travel season.
Keep in mind though, if you will be flying, be prepared tospend more time (as much as a couple of hours) standing in airport securitylines.
Airline passenger travel is forecasted to increase by 4percent over last years record level. Unfortunately, thousands of fewer Transportation Security Administration(TSA) airport screeners is expected to contribute to long security lines.
American and United Airlines have each announced plans tospend $4 million on contractors to help reduce lines by handling some of thenon-screening duties at airport security checkpoints, such as running bins andmanaging the lines.
Some travel experts contend that the increasing badpublicity about long airport security lines might result in making last minuteairline reservations more affordable.
Recently trans-Atlantic round trips in July on BritishAirways and American were almost half of their typical price for peak seasontravel. This occurred during a one-daysale. Such sales are expected to berepeated.
The cost of an average domestic round trip ticket droppedabout 8 percent in 2015, to $363. InMarch of this year the average ticket price per mile was 5.6 percent less thanin March of last year.
Ticket prices have dropped even steeper on internationalroutes than on domestic ones, because foreign airlines have added flights thathave proved difficult to fill.
In response to its oversupply of seats, Delta Air Lines hasannounced that it will reduce its planned growth more sharply as this yearprogresses. By the fourth quarter Deltaprojects that its passenger capacity will be 2.5 percent higher than at thesame time last year. That would be downfrom a 5.4 increase in the first quarter.
United Airlines reduced its planned 2016 growth by half ofa percent and American has said that it will slash its forecasted internationalexpansion this year to 2.5 percent from an original plan of 6 percent.
While none of these moves will impact the number of airlineseats available this summer, they may well result in higher airfares by nextsummer.
The following are some tips for finding the cheapestairfares this summer:
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Investigateone way airfares. Such fares might savemoney as well as possibly provide a more convenient itinerary.
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Lookinto travel packages since often you can save meaningful money by booking ahotel and flight at the same time.
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Ifpossible, travel on a less busy day. Often it is cheaper to fly to vacation destinations on Tuesday andWednesday than on weekends.
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Considerpurchasing airline tickets in smaller groups. Airlines usually offer only a limited number of seats at the cheapestprice. If there are four or five peoplein your traveling party, you might find cheaper prices by buying your ticketsindividually. However, if you will betraveling with children, pair every child with at least one adult to ensurethat a child does not end up flying alone.
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