Airline fares expected to jump again this summer
The kids will be out of school. You deserve a vacation. You need to work on Spanish. Whatever the reason, you likely want to take some time off this summer.
Good luck if it involves flying though.
Travel experts expect demand for seats will be brisk, allowing the airlines to keep raising fares.
A few weeks ago, major U.S. carriers like United and Continental raised ticket prices again. But those increases were later trimmed when low-fare competitors like Southwest and JetBlue didn’t follow along. But don’t expect that to last.
And costs are increasing on some Canadian carriers as well. For a mid-week Toronto-Vancouver one-way ticket, WestJet was looking for $229, compared with $149 a year earlier, according to a recent survey of lowest-available base fares by Raymond James Ltd. Latest cost for July travel: $259.
And it’s not going to stop there. To offset oil price increases, airlines need to increase their revenues by at least 10 per cent through a combination of both raising ticket prices and, where possible, reducing their costs further, including more fuel surcharges.
Turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has raised fuel costs, which represent at least 25 per cent of airline expenses and no-one wants to be caught out.
If you’re starting your summer travel shopping, be as flexible as possible, warns Rick Seaney, founder of the online airfare comparison site FareCompare.
No, it’s not convenient, and sometimes it’s just impossible, but there are little things you can do to improve your airfare situation. These, Seaney says, include the following:
- Sign up for airfare alerts to learn when prices drop
- Shop on Tuesday afternoons for the cheapest airfare
- Travel during the middle of the week
- Fly overnight using red-eye fares
- Choose your vacation destination by price
- Find out if connecting flights will be cheaper than a nonstop
- Vacation in late August, early September or after Labour Day
- Use a carryon even if your vacation lasts a week or two.
Will increasing fare costs impact your summer vacation plans? Whar are you doing to keep costs down?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Gerry | Mar 30, 2021 5:09:02 PM
Staying home. I guess.
Posted by: John | Mar 31, 2021 12:34:50 AM
WOW man just WOW.
Some of the ideas are good ones like the nighttime flights are cheaper and if you can sleep on the plane board, sleep and wake up at your destination.
Also leaving in the middle of the week can be a good thing.
HOWEVER!
Compromise on a vacation to save a few bucks on airfare? Choose my destination based on price my god what's wrong with you?
If your going to go on a vacation it's a major treat to yourself go and spend the extra to really enjoy yourself.
I can see some idiot going to the airport and seeing the prices and going hhhmmm Florida is $590 1 way and the Middle East is $575 1 way. The Middle East sounds great let's go kids.
Come on man next time use your brain for writing something.
Posted by: Steven | Mar 31, 2021 4:37:00 AM
The author missed a big way to save money. Avoid Canadian airports and airlines at all cost. While they don't gouge as much as the telecommunications companies their prices are much higher than companies operating in an open market. Case in point flights from northern England to southern Spain are about $40 and that is the same distance as from Toronto to Miami plus you can truly work on your Spanish !
Posted by: sceptical | Mar 31, 2021 8:17:04 AM
Fuel aside, the major factors driving fares here are the direct and indirect charges the government levies on airports and their customers.
Ottawa charges big $$ on the federally owned land that major airports operate on; it also imposes security charges, fuel excise taxes and sales taxes which now account for as much as 60% of the total fare. If you live near the border, consider crossing it to fly.
Posted by: tom ulrich | Mar 31, 2021 12:16:09 PM
The taxes on our airline tickets are out of this world.
My best advise......if you want to save big bucks, drive across the border and fly out of the U.S. To fly one of my employees from from Los Angeles to Toronto is the same it costs to fly one of my employees from Vancouver to Toronto......untill.....I get stiffed by our government with taxes. $90 each way for the Los Angeles flight, $190 each way for the Vancouver flight. Needless to say, my Vancouver employees, time permitting, now fly out of Bellingham or Seattle.
Sorry feds, you don't have a monopoly here, you guys rip me off whenever you can with taxes, I will do the same to you.
Cheers
Posted by: Agreed | Mar 31, 2021 3:27:41 PM
Agreed. Have flown out of US three times in the past year ... savings of 40% each time ... you clear immigartion/customs in your car, not in a lineup of 200 people ... sceirity is better staffed and more efficient than TO ot MTL airports as well.
Posted by: clettt | Mar 31, 2021 6:39:51 PM
I managed to stumble upon AC's one day 20% discount yesterday, and got a round trip from Calgary to Boston, including taxes, for $565. Although, that is a discount, and not the usual price.
Posted by: Mick O'Keeffe | Mar 31, 2021 7:02:44 PM
Great. Jack them prices up guys but good.
Who knows what those black holes known as canadian airports and the non-accountable execs that slither within cost us taxpayers every year. I want every air traveller to pay the full cost of flying plus the cost of ozone errosion plus any punitive damages that can be thought of plus the guilt of messing with our balance of payments by jetting into Puerto Vallarta and spending money frivilously every weekend.
Me, I'm an on-the-ropes senior citizen and I can't even fly to the nearest Safeway so all those other
suckers can pay,pay,pay. If they tried offering me a free ticket to Paris I'd tell them all to push off.
Go on, try offering a ticket to me.
Posted by: mrow | Mar 31, 2021 9:00:35 PM
Down with the dependence on oil!!
There are other alternative sources of fuel/energy that can be used. Everything is too expensive in this economy!! Down with the monetary system!!
Posted by: Albertan | Mar 31, 2021 10:42:15 PM
Long live the dependance on oil! If you really don't like it Mrow we can turn the pipe off that heads to Ontairo and let you freeze and starve in the dark. I hear China wants our energy and according to Obama yesterday the USA is also up for buying Alberta oil and gas. You think the price of energy is bad now Mrow? I can almost guarantee in the next 5 eyars its going up 50% so I would recommend working hard and smart so that the increase means nothing to you. Your other option is to move into the street which doesn't seem as appealing to me.
That said has anybody here ever looked at airline's financials? They are typically dismal. I can't begrudge them raising rates so that they can actually profit. Seems reasonable to me. They offer a great service at a very reaosnable price. I'd suggest if you find $500 too much to pay for a flight you should rethink your financial situation because its not the cost of the flight that is the issue.
Also too bad for you Mick. You seem a little bitter? Also a little tip. Aviation fuel doesn't cause ozone to be depleted (not eroded lol). During the 911 flight grounding they actually noticed that the lack of contrails from airplanes reduced cloud cover by a noticeable percentage across the densely populated US states which caused higher sun absorption and lead to a higher temperature on the surface (less reflected light). So actually you should thank the jet-sets for doing their bit to help stop (lol) global warming.
The world is never as simplistic as many of you seem to think it is.
Posted by: Chip | Apr 2, 2021 3:32:16 AM
Don't get too cocky Albertan... any oil comin' from Alberta is either on First Nation or Federal Crown land. So, unless you're planning a little Egyptian/Libyan style revolution or heading to bed with your muslim buddies, Ontario or the rest of Canada won't be freezin anytime soon. Lastly, any exportation of CANADIAN resources comes under federal NOT provincial regulations, so Obama and your wong tong eating friends will have to go through Ottawa for their energy handouts.
Posted by: Dr. X. Liang | Apr 3, 2021 6:11:36 PM
@Chip... I am Chinese. Can you explain to me what "wong tongs" are? I have never heard of them. What is "exportation"? LOL.
Posted by: J Lindon | Apr 3, 2021 6:23:45 PM
I fly weekly from Toronto to Vancouver with AC on business. Round trip cost is $5,400 in business class. Like Ulrich said, I can drive across the border to the US, fly Continental to Seattle for half that price in 1st Class, but my company will not let me fly first class, only business class with AC. So now I pay twice the cost and my company is happy. My customers (who pay my travel expenses) are not.
Posted by: Dre | Apr 4, 2021 12:34:28 AM
Exponential population growth and heavy reliance on fossil fuels, what did you think was going to happen? The world is dying, this is the real issue, but it seems far too complicated for all those simple, Conservative/Republican minds to comprehend.. nor do they care.
Posted by: PauldaPilot | Apr 4, 2021 9:13:37 AM
I just priced out flying from Edmonton to Toronto. $565 per person. It will take me 2.75 hours to get to CYEG, at least an hour in the airport, 3.5 hours min flight, and then another 30 minutes to get out of the airport. Total Time: 7 hours and 45 mins. I can fly my own aircraft there for an extra $200 bucks (includes fuel and overnight parking), leave at my choice of time, from my home strip, and get there in the same time. If I had one more passenger, it would actually be cheaper.