Domestic Flights Prices Skyrocketed 47% Since January

Domestic Flights Prices Skyrocketed 47% Since January

According to recent Adobe Analytics data, the cost of domestic airfare has risen “significantly” over the course of 2022, rising 47 percent since January.

According to Adobe, which tracks direct consumer transactions from six of the top ten U.S. airlines, May was the fourth month in a row that prices rose above pre-pandemic levels.

Prices increased by 30% last month compared to the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, according to Adobe, domestic flight prices increased by 27% in April and 20% in March compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, prices in February were up 5% from the previous year.

Adobe tracked the amount consumers collectively spent last month versus actual flight bookings to better illustrate the impact of higher prices.

For example, in May, consumers spent $8.3 billion online for domestic flights, a 6.2 percent increase from April’s total of $7.8 billion.

Despite the fact that consumers spent over $500 million more on flights in May, actual bookings were down by 2.3 percent on a monthly basis, according to Adobe.

“While some consumers have been able to stomach the higher fares, particularly those who delayed travel plans due to the pandemic,” said Adobe Digital Insights lead analyst Vivek Pandya, “the drop in bookings shows that some are rethinking their appetite for getting on a plane.”

Some of those postponed summer vacations are already being impacted by higher prices.

According to Adobe, domestic bookings for travel between June and August are down 2% from this time last year. However, travel spending increased by 11% during that time period.

Year to date, consumers have spent $37.1 billion online on domestic flights. According to Adobe, this is a significant increase from the $19.2 billion spent by consumers in the first five months of 2021.

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