The airline industry has been through a great deal in the last couple years. Covid-19 has caused shut downs, labor shortages and drastic drops in ticket prices. What are flight prices going to look like in the year 2022? Let’s take a look at what experts are saying.

Will there still be Deals?

There are many factors that dictate airline ticket pricing. A couple that directly affect passengers are the cost of fuel and an increase in travel demand. The average cost of a flight is expected to rise in the year 2022; however, that doesn’t mean that cheap flight deals are going away. If you’re willing to look for them, the deals will be there just as they’ve always been.

What Could Keep Prices Low?

Supply and Demand

Supply and demand is an economic principle that is helping to keep flight prices down. An article written by Gunnar Olson for thriftytraveler.com states, As with all things, one of the biggest factors behind flight prices is the simple law of supply and demand. Demand disappeared as the pandemic first struck last year, forcing airlines to cut the supply of flights until it returned. Airlines dropped routes and cut frequencies, running just 20% of their normal operations – or less.” Despite there being an uptick in travel, the concept of supply and demand is still working in your favor. The airline industry is not operating at its full capacity which means they’re still motivated to offer steep discounts.

Competition

If supply and demand isn’t enough to keep airfare prices low, good old fashioned competition will. Consumers have a handful of options to choose from when booking a flight. If one company has unrealistic pricing expectations, they won’t sell tickets. It’s not good business to set your prices significantly higher than your competition who performs the same service you do. During the pandemic, we’ve seen large airlines like Spirit, Delta, and Southwest forced to compete with smaller airlines. This is good news for consumers as people are traveling for business less and traveling more for leisure. Airlines will continue to compete for your business and that’s a good thing!

Jet Fuel Prices

One of the few positive things to come out of the pandemic is the plummeting cost of oil. As Covid surged across the world in 2020, oil prices were lower than they’ve been in a long time. However, in 2021, the price increased steadily. As previous mentioned, the price of fuel plays a large role in whether or not airline tickets remain affordable. It’s one of the biggest costs of the airline industry. At a certain point, the airlines are going to have to pass the cost of fuel down to their customers. This presents its own problems. High ticket prices could affect the industry’s comeback. It’s definitely a catch 22.

Travel is on the up and up but have no fear. You’ll still find cheap flights if you’re willing to search for them.