Domestic airline ticket prices plunge
Airline ticket prices are falling at the biggest rate on record even though carriers have slashed capacity, new data show. The average cost of a plane ticket within the U.S. plunged 9.1%, to $315, during the first three months of the year from last year’s fourth quarter, the largest quarter-to-quarter drop recorded by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
In fact, domestic airfares are cheaper than they were 10 years ago, federal data show.
Passengers paid 5.1% less to travel on average during the early months of this year than they did during the same period in 1999, when fares averaged $332 — not adjusted for inflation — according to federal data. Inflation over that period was 28.9%. Second-quarter data aren’t yet available, although prices probably rose slightly during the busier summer travel months.
Major carriers Continental, United, Delta and American all saw revenue declines of greater than 20% during the second quarter of this year.
Most airlines are offering bargains for travel between August 18 and November 18, 2009 in a bid to gain customers during a typically slow period. Travelers can secure lowest prices by booking Monday, Thursday, or Friday flights.
Excerpts taken from an article by Julie Johnsson published 7/31/09 in the Los Angeles Times.
