How fast before U.S. airlines start raising their fuel surcharges? That’s the question on many minds as several international airlines recently upped the bill on airline tickets.
USA Today reported that Lufthansa, Thai Airways, India’s Jet Airways and Kingfisher, and airlines in Taiwan increased their fuel surcharge for domestic and international routes resulting in higher overall airline ticket costs. The move has many airline industry execs wondering how long before U.S. airlines follow suit.
Crude oil has slowly inched its way back up after dropping from record highs last July. We’ve been watching the rates closely and it appears that U.S. airlines aren’t raising rates on domestic flights, but there has been a slight bump in fuel surcharges from some U.S. airlines on international flights.
While the worrying trend from international airlines has some execs watching the domestic carriers very closely, U.S. airlines are still making efforts to keep the cost of an airline ticket down. According to our analysis, cheap flights are widely available for summer and fall travel domestically and internationally.
Flights to Mexico have never more affordable, and Hawaii has become one of the most inexpensive destinations in the U.S. For international travel, flights to Ireland are at an all-time low, and vacation packages to London, Rome and Paris remain affordable through the end of the year.
The moral of the story: If you see a good deal, book it now. There’s no predicting the future, but we can say for certain that now is the time to capture the best travel deals.
© Cheapflights Ltd Melanie Nayer
