If you haven’t already booked a flight for summer travel, beware: Airlines are raising fares.
Kyle Potter is with the Thrifty Traveler and says you also have to look past the cost of just the airline ticket when budgeting for a trip.
"In addition to the higher fares on average, we're already starting to see airlines increase fees like things for baggage," Potter says. "So I think there's going to be more of that to come."
Potter also says jet fuel prices are up 80% since the war in Iran began. Fuel is typically the second biggest expense for airlines after labor.
It remains to be seen just how much the cost of an airline ticket will increase, or how long the war lasts with U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz looming. Trump gave Tehran a Monday night deadline, Washington time, warning the U.S. would hit Iran’s power plants and other infrastructure targets.
The Strait of Hormuz has been mostly shut off from commercial shipping during the war, and that is causing a spike in global fuel costs.
"Some will continue to go up in the weeks and months ahead, some will surely come down," Potter says about costs. "We're still seeing that play out today. I mean, this is what we do at Thrifty Traveler, we find flight deals. We are still finding flight deals in some cases at prices lower than what we're accustomed to seeing even just a month or two ago."
That's good news if you have the flexibility to dig for those deals, or can jump at last-minute fares. However, Potter says he does expect prices to go up overall, as long as the war continues.
Few airlines have given any specifics about how much they’ve raised fares, but one airline suggested they've raised many fares by 15% to 20% in the last week alone.
The nation's largest airlines, American, Delta, United, and Southwest, said last week via Thrifty Traveler that the recent fuel price spike has cost them roughly $400 million in March. Smaller carriers like Sun Country, JetBlue and Alaska are feeling the same pain too.
As of Friday, United Airlines says travelers will pay $10 more to check their luggage, blaming those higher jet fuel costs. The first piece of checked luggage will now cost customers $45 on flights within the United States, Mexico, Canada and Latin America, according to United. A second bag will cost $55.
“This is the first time in two years the airline has raised bag fees,” United said in a statement.
That can add significant costs for fliers, especially families with multiple pieces of checked baggage. United joins JetBlue, which raised its checked baggage fees earlier this week by $9 for peak travel periods. JetBlue said that charging more for optional services used by select customers helps keep base fares competitive. Like United, it will continue offering a free first checked bag to some customers, which includes those that have co-branded credit cards, or those with loyalty status.
But that is not most travelers who are forced to fork over more money after paying for their flights.
Potter goes so far as to say higher costs may just be the start, with the potential of flight changes, cancellations and disruptions as airports eventually run out of fuel, especially overseas.
Thrifty Traveler and Potter say travelers planning trips later this year may want to consider locking in flights sooner rather than later, and that is especially true for any summer travel. Airlines have been crystal-clear that prices are going up, and it is due to fuel costs.
