How much have airfares risen with high jet fuel costs?

How much have airfares risen with high jet fuel costs?

It has become more expensive to fly since the war in Iran began. But by how much?

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Data from the flight search engine Skiplagged shows ticket prices for popular domestic routes rose 35% this summer compared with last year, reversing three years of price declines. Fares for popular international routes are up by about 15%.

Routes booked in May for June and early July are often some of the most expensive fares of the year, behind only those routes during the holiday season. Domestic passenger prices this summer are the highest they’ve been since 2022.

At first blush, the smaller increase in international fares may be surprising: Flights abroad are generally longer and require more jet fuel, which has nearly doubled in price since the start of the war.

According to airline analysts, prices for international routes may have spiked less because of lower demand for travel to the U.S. and because it’s harder for airlines to make route changes and cut flights. By contrast, airlines can more easily pull back capacity on domestic flights when there’s weak demand, increasing scarcity and leaving prices high.

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How far your travel budget is stretched this summer depends on where you’re going. In the sample of data provided by Skiplagged, more than half of all domestic flights had at least a 25% increase.

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Forecasts had warned of widespread jet fuel shortages in Europe and significant flight cancellations and price hikes. “For the most part a lot of that hasn’t come to fruition,” said Christopher Anderson, a Cornell Business School professor who studies airline pricing. “The airlines have done a good job changing routes, restricting some of that capacity.”

Airlines have also been covering their jet fuel expenses by increasingly passing costs onto customers with higher airfares and bag fees.

Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said the company had pushed seven fare increases since February but had seen “no drop-off in demand.”

Some of that may be thanks to the powerful draw of summer travel, said Conor Cunningham, an airlines and travel analyst at the investment firm Melius Research.

“Summer tends to find a way,” he said, adding that those who have the money to travel are still booking flights.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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