Cheap Air Fares Are Dead and Buried

The price of air travel is set to soar this year worldwide, spelling the end of low-cost travel as we know it

As most travel restrictions connected to the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted worldwide, commercial air traffic is set to soar to pre-pandemic levels on most routes in 2023, according to UN aviation agency.

So are the air fares. The price of air travel is set to soar this year too, spelling the end of low-cost travel as we know it.

According to major international tour operator TUI Group, last-minute deals and cheap airline tickets are history now.

High fuel prices, paired with soaring demand that outstrips supply, have made long-distance vacation travel more costly, travel group’s chief executive warned.

“In 2023 there will be no ‘last-minute summer’ like there used to be. On the contrary: shortly before departure, prices will tend to be higher rather than lower, because hoteliers and airlines know that there are still a lot of bookings at short notice. Spontaneous bargains will be the absolute exception. Booking early gives choice and good prices,” TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel said.

Bargain flights costing less than €50 will no longer exist, Ebel added.

TUI Group is headquartered in Hanover, Germany and is one of the largest leisure travel and tourism companies in the world, employing 60,000 people and offering trips to 180 destinations. TUI is an acronym for Touristik Union International. TUI AG was known as Preussag AG until 1997 when the company changed its activities from mining to tourism.

Last summer, jet fuel price spiked at more than $175 a barrel due to a broader energy crisis. Jet fuel costs have since dropped in line with crude oil prices, but they still remain above its long-term average.

And according to travel industry data released in March of this year, the amount spent on vacation and airline travel soared 19% and 34%, respectively, from just a year ago.