According to several new reports in the last week or so, several airlines have raised prices on travel for this summer. One such notice comes out of Chicago, where the Chicago Tribune posted this article declaring that fares to Europe have more than doubled for travel before September. However, they also note that fares are DECREASING after Aug 15 (when presumably kids go back to school soon) for the same flights to Europe.
Earlier, a leading airline watchdog (FareCompare) noted that American and UAL had raised prices twice in the past few weeks on domestic routes. They were waiting for a third increase (or to see if other airlines followed the increase) before suggesting a new trend was starting. So far, I have not seen any more reports but this Europe fare increase could be considered something of a confirmation.
What does this mean for summer travel?
At the least, rock bottom has been hit perhaps. All the staff cuts and grounding of planes and route reductions have taken the toll they were expected to. The airlines had hoped this would happen BEFORE the important summer season started but the free-falling economy prevented that. Now, they might be seeing the fruits of their labor.
I would caution however that the experts suggest increases will be short-lived. All indications point to an economy that will only SLOWLY recover and travel is not likely to rebound much before 2010. Many analysts suggest fares will be decreased for fall travel so unless you are going to a destination where cutbacks have already allowed supply to match demand, fares will still be at their (now) historic lows and increases only marginal.
My personal opinion is somewhat different - I think fares will NOT decrease in the fall (they may not rise either) because of various factors but I have to report what 'experts' suggest and what the hard evidence shows first. Then I can expound my 'theories' and go out on the proverbial limb.
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