As the summer season approaches, the allure of vacations and travel experiences grows stronger. With more people eager to explore new destinations and reunite with loved ones, the demand for air travel surges. Unfortunately, increased summer travel often leads to high airfare rates. In order to help travellers avoid the most expensive airfare locations, the travel website CheapAir.com recently conducted research that examined 128 million airfares in cities all across the United States. Here’s what they found.
Smaller Cities Are Experiencing Higher Airfare Rates
We hear some winter weather is on the way so we gotta jet! See you on the sunny side! pic.twitter.com/QBjzsVwv7P
— Bishop Airport (FNT) (@FNTAirport) February 21, 2023
According to this recent research looking at the rise in flight expenses this year, airfare prices have been rising throughout the USA at record rates, and certain locations are feeling the squeeze significantly more than others. Even the least expensive domestic price has jumped 17% overall compared to last year, according to the survey, which examined 128 million airfares in April in places all around the United States.
That’s even more true in cities with small airports that service smaller metropolitan areas. Here are the cities with the highest increase in airfare:
- Flint in Michigan with a 35% increase
- Akron in Ohio with a 32% increase
- Dayton in Ohio with a 30% increase
- Greensboro in North Caroline with a 28% increase
- Tucson in Arizona with a 25% increase
According to the study, no city in the U.S. was spared from an increase. Airfares from U.S. cities are up anywhere from 10% to 35% depending on where the tickets are being booked from the states. However, it is to note that bigger cities are experiencing smaller increases on average, while those living in smaller cities are seeing much larger increases.
Also Read: Delhi’s IGI Airport Ranks As The 9th Busiest Airport, Check Out The List Of World’s Busiest Airports
What’s The Reason Behind It?
One of the primary reasons for the surge in airfare prices during summer is the significant increase in demand for flights. The high demand creates a strain on airline resources, and as available seats become limited, ticket prices naturally rise.
In comparison to other larger cities, smaller airports provide fewer flights on fewer carriers, and airlines generally struggle to satisfy demand. Smaller markets even occasionally experienced a reduction in flight schedules that did not reach pre-pandemic levels. Because of basic supply and demand, prices might have increased when the number of flights is severely constrained.
On the other hand, bigger cities are seeing the smallest increase in airfare in 2023. Bigger cities like San Francisco, Albany, and Boston have only seen an increase of 12%; whereas New York, and Houston has only seen an increase of 11%.
Which of these cities are you travelling to?
Cover image credits: Canva