PHOENIX — America's summer travel season is running headlong into the inflationary and supply-chain pressures upending many sectors of the economy — and it looks like passengers, particularly travelers on the West Coast and in Phoenix, will be the ones footing the bill.
Recently released Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found airline prices increased 12.6% in May on a month-to-month basis. Compared to May 2021, average airfares had increased 37.8%.
According to data from Hopper Inc., a provider of online travel services and data, airfare for the nation’s busiest airports are at recent highs. Data provided to The Business Journals found the average domestic roundtrip ticket at the 50-largest airports this summer is $431. On average, fares for the rest of June through Aug. 31 are 94% higher than 2021 levels and 66% higher than 2019 levels, according to Hopper data.
In Phoenix, the average price of a 2022 summer ticket as of June 8 was $455, topping the national average with a 105% increase from the average price in 2021. Go back in time to March 30, and the average price was $260. That means average summer airfare costs rose $196, or more than 75%, over those 10 weeks.
