The holiday season is here again and after nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are eager to see loved ones in person again, but it won't be cheap.
During the pandemic, airlines were desperate to fill planes and offered highly discounted fares to entice people to travel despite ongoing restrictions and the risk of the virus. However, now that vaccination rates are up and the US border is open, demand has skyrocketed, and so have ticket prices.
Hopper, an airfare tracking app, published its yearly Holiday Travel Guide to give travelers an idea of what to expect in terms of ticket prices over Thanksgiving and Christmas. According to the company, domestic airfare this Thanksgiving is an average of $300 roundtrip, up 23% from 2020, though still 11% below 2019 levels.
Christmas travel will burn an even bigger hole in travelers' wallets this year. Hopper revealed domestic airfare around the holiday is $390, which is 55% higher than 2020 and on par with 2019.
Atlanta-resident Candace Driver complained on Twitter about rising airfare. She told Insider she flies home to California every year for Christmas, but fares were double what she paid for three people in 2020.
"It was $1200 for tickets home this year. Last year we got out of here for around $600," she said.
Insider also spoke with Twitter user Bailey Bond who said she spent hours looking for a cheaper flight from Portland to Texas after prices soared to $900. She ended up paying $800 for one ticket.
"Every year for Christmas we have spent about $360 per person for round trip flights to Texas," she said. "What we usually spend getting two of us home round trip wouldn't even buy 1 person a round trip ticket this year."
20/11/21 Taylor Rains/Business Insider
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