Summer flight prices soar.
Airfares have soared this summer amid a climate of cancellations and high demand, with analysts predicting prices will continue to stay high even after the peak travel period has passed.
According to travel agency Kayak, the cost of a ticket on the top 36 routes out of the United Kingdom was on average 30% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The United States, Canada and Australia have also seen similar increases in ticket prices.
The rise comes amid a wave of flight cancellations due to staff shortages as companies struggle to hire post-pandemic. This has created huge demand for seats on flights still running.
Only last week, British Airways took all short-haul flights from London Heathrow off sale.
The tens of thousands of seats being removed from sale is expected to push already high prices up further across the industry.
Looking beyond the summer chaos, airlines have warned that flight prices will continue to increase due to the high price of oil.
Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency and former Virgin Atlantic Director, reinforces that view, telling i: “Airlines…are realising that there is so much consumer demand to travel that they can charge more per seat, during an inflationary period, yet operate fewer flights due to staffing shortages.
“So, overall airline profitability is rising sharply despite lower capacity. This is an ideal business model for airlines as it means they can plough excess profits into negotiating better wage deals for their employees as well as into improved seating and other onboard facilities.
“Consumers, especially those choosing premium cabins which are currently highly popular, are in effect paying to reset how airlines operate.”
Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said last month that airfares were “too cheap” and predicted at least five years of rising flight prices.
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