You’re in luck if you’re planning to travel this year: expensive long-distance flights are getting cheaper. Whether you’ve always dreamed of heading to Europe from the US or visiting far-off places in Asia or Australia, lengthy flights are about to start dropping in price.
Airfare is always expensive, but a new change is taking place. In 2017, Travel + Leisure reports that airlines dropped flight prices by 7%. Long flights over 4 hours saw the biggest discount, falling to as little as $93 for some destinations. And right now, prices are decreasing even more.
Why Airfare is Affordable Now
Flying isn’t becoming any cheaper – at least not for airlines. Thanks to inflation, high fuel costs, and the big expenses of staff and supplies, airlines are spending more on every flight.
But competition is driving prices down. New budget airlines are popping up around the world, flying to and from countless international destinations. These airlines offer travelers shockingly low costs, cutting out luxuries like legroom, free checked bags, and meals to make flying more affordable.
Low-cost airlines are now offering the same flight options, beating the biggest names in the industry by giving customers what they want at a lower price. On affordable new airline LEVEL, travelers can fly from Barcelona to Boston for just over $100. Want to visit Martinique from New York City? You can get there for less than $200 on WOW Air.
Airlines Need to Fill Seats
Low cost airlines are forcing prices down. Competition is high, and so is travelers’ unwillingness to pay high airfare prices.
Big-name airlines can’t keep up; they can’t lower prices to match budget airlines without losing money. As more travelers choose low prices over flying in comfort, airlines are left with unsold seats. And that’s when prices drop.
As more low-cost airlines appear each year, offering more destinations and routes at home and abroad, bigger airlines have to lower prices. They have to be able to compete – they have to be able to fill seats on their planes. But they don’t want to draw attention to these lower prices.
The best way to score low-priced airfare on a non-budget airline? Look for empty flights. If a flight has a ton of seats still available, the odds are high that the airline will start offering special pricing.
How Do I Find The Lowest Airfare Prices?
Before you book your next vacation, take advantage of these new low airfare rates. It’s easy – you just need to know how to find cheap airfare steals.
There’s only one way to make sure you get the best deal on any flight: perform an online search. And one search won’t always do the trick. Prices and deals change often, meaning you need to search regularly to compare offers. Airlines lower prices as the departure date draws near in a last attempt to lower prices. But you have to hunt these cheap fares down. Only flights with 20 or more open seats will offer a true deal.
Like anything, it’s always a good idea to be aware of the latest research. We recommend comparing at least 3 or 4 options before making a final decision. Doing a search online is typically the quickest, most thorough way to discover all the pros and cons you need to keep in mind.
