The Great Cheapening

Here are some facts about where airfare stands as of July 2024:

• Airfare is 24% cheaper than its peak in June 2022
• Since February 2020:
• Inflation (overall): +21%
• Airfare: -11%
• Airfare is 42% cheaper than it was 10 years ago (adjusting for inflation)

Airfare has gotten significantly cheaper not just over the past decade, but also in the past two years.

So, why are flights getting cheaper? Competition. Airline capacity has been consistently growing 7-15% for the past two years, and that boost in competition puts downward pressure on fares.

Where to find the biggest drops

Some of the biggest fare drops can be seen on international routes. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly price indices, here are how prices in July 2024 compare to July 2023:

• Europe (continental): -9%
• United Kingdom: -7%
• Asia: -11%
• Latin America/Caribbean: -6%

And over the next few months, prices are more likely to drop further than increase. For cheap-flight lovers, it's a bonanza.

Why this info is critical

Average flight prices are interesting for academics, but here's why the information is critical for travelers.

If you don't know cheap flights exist, you're much more likely to overpay. A $1,000 roundtrip ticket to Europe may seem like a great deal to some, but Going members know that $500 roundtrip or less is the norm these days. Those $1,000 flights are available, but armed with the knowledge that we're awash in cheap flights, you can comfortably hold out for the ones that are less than $500.

'Not every flight'

Remember: Even in the Golden Age of Cheap Flights, not every flight is cheap. On a flight with 200 people, chances are they paid close to 200 different prices to be there. (Our job is to make sure Going members paid the least amount.)

Think of airfare as a bell curve. For every flight, there are cheap fares and expensive ones, and the prices are changing by the day. Living in this current era means the curve has shifted to the left, and there are far more good deals available than a year or two ago.

Whereas expensive flights were commonplace in 2022, today they're optional.

More travel news

• The Alaska-Hawaiian merger has cleared DOJ review. Here's what's next
• Flighty now lets you know about flight delays 'hours in advance' (here's our review of the app)
• Spirit just announced its new pricing bundle
• The world's most-connected airports were just named-and 3 US hubs made the top-10 list

Cool stuff we like

• How luxury hotels around the world are embracing the wild
• This guy turns planes into cool places you can sleep in
• Why you can eat endless bread and gelato in Europe and still feel 100%
• The world's most remote places in photographs
• This travel card delivers the biggest return on all your spending*

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