With the news of oil prices rising and supply continuing to dwindle, paired with demand of flights returning to re-pandemic levels, the fear of affordable travel going to way of the Dodo and the dream trip you’ve been waiting to finally do since the world opened back, appears to no longer be possible. Well, that trend isn’t completely true. International flights are still affordable. We still see decent deals to fly to Europe, roughly $400-500 round trip as well as $700 flights to Asia. Now the super saver deals may not be as frequent, but you can still get to a destination for a more affordable rate. There’s also more to the story, economy tickets aren’t the only deals that are available. Business Class and Premium Economy are where the really reduced rates are coming from.
Scotts Cheap Flights recently wrote about how the lack of business travel is impacting airfare. According to Scott’s, business travelers make up about 75% of airline revenue despite being a little over 10% of the travelers. Last second flights are notoriously expensive and business travel usually books those flights. With the reduced travel, those seats aren’t being filled. Business travelers also purchase the majority of the premium seats on flights. So what does that mean for you and I? Well, there’s an influx of inventory in First Class, Business Class and Premium Economy and the airlines need to fill that revenue gap, and that means, cheap tickets on what were once unaffordable seats.
Recently there have been Business Class tickets to Japan that are as low as $1,300 round trip or $1,800 to Portugal. I know that that isn’t chump change, but Business Class out of pocket is normally $5-6 thousand dollars a seat if not more. It’s easy to see the significant savings. The savings don’t end with Business Class seating. Premium Economy tickets are also not getting filled. Seats that are normally $1,500-2,000 a seat are now under $1,000 a seat in some cases. We have recently purchased Premium Economy for $600 a ticket from Chicago to Geneva, which ended up being cheaper than what the economy seat cost. Airlines are having to be creative with how they fill their airplanes and the types of passengers they currently have to serve. Which for the majority of tourist travelers, it’s benefiting you.
If you have a trip you’ve been looking to pull the trigger on, it’s still a good time to do so. If you want to get to Europe for a last second winter trip, there’s plenty of good rates still available. If you’re looking to check out the beaches of Thailand, discounted rates are there. Be flexible on dates, flexible on airport destinations and be creative with your searches. Just because you usually fly economy doesn’t mean you can’t afford a better seat. Now’s the time to take advantage. Happy travels everyone.