Hopper: Cheapest fares are up 40% since start of the year: Travel Weekly

Budget domestic airfares have gone up 40% since the beginning of the year, according to an analysis by travel app Hopper.

At $330 on average for a roundtrip ticket, prices are 7% above the 2019 level.

Hopper defines budget fares as those that are lower than 90% of the fare quotes it tracks.

With summer demand strong, jet fuel at its most expensive level since 2008 and airlines flying approximately 8% less domestic capacity than they were at this time in 2019, Hopper expects domestic prices to reach an average of $361 by May before dropping steadily over the summer to $304 in September. 

Budget international airfares have also gone up precipitously this calendar year, and with an average of $810 roundtrip are now 25% higher than they were on Jan. 1. 

Hopper projects that international prices will peak in June at $940 on average, before declining to $780 in December. 

Prices for transatlantic travel have continued rising despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Hopper said, and are up 5% since the war began on Feb. 24.

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