As the summer holiday season approaches, airports across the country are gearing up for a flurry of flyers.
According to recently released numbers from AAA, the Commemorative Day The weekend is expected to be one of the busiest on record, with more than 42 million Americans expected to take to the skies, an 11% increase over last year.
However, the dream of an affordable holiday before Memorial Day has turned into an expensive trip for Kelsey Elizondo and Isaiah Wright after the couple, who were heading home to Atlanta from Salt Lake City, Utah, discovered that Air travel costs have skyrocketed.
“It’s outrageous how much it costs to fly now. It’s crazy. We’ve traveled way before kids and we feel like we could go anywhere even on a budget,” Elizondo said.
This year, traveling with her two young children has caused her flight costs to double.
In April, the air ticket experienced a significant increase of 2.7% compared to March. While that’s still slightly down from last summer, it’s nearly 10% higher than before the pandemic, according to an air travel consumer report released by the US Department of Transportation.
Not only are flights more expensive, but hotels have also seen their prices rise, up 3.5% from last year and an impressive 15% increase since 2019.
However, there is a bright side for travelers opting for road trips, as car hire is forecast to be cheaper this summer, down 11% on last year but still up 51% than four years ago
According to Sally French, a vacation inflation tracker for NerdWallet, a personal finance website, increased demand for travel has led to higher prices.
“So people should expect to pay more for their travel than even in the last couple of years,” French warned.
In an attempt to save money, 35% of travelers surveyed by NerdWallet have opted to drive instead of fly, taking advantage of gas prices that are more than a dollar lower on average than last year.
“I didn’t think gas was a problem, but I almost blew a thousand bucks, and we didn’t go over 2,000 miles. It’s crazy,” said Jacob Rash, who filled up his RV. to a Buc-ee’s in Georgia for $2.85 a gallon.
The cost of various holiday activities has also seen an increase. Dining out was up nearly 9% from last year and a staggering 24% from 2019. In addition, movies and concerts now cost about 7% more than last year, the which made holiday budgets more strained.
With all these rising expenses, travelers find themselves spending much more than they initially expected. Kelsey Elizondo shared her experience, saying, “What we thought we were going to spend compared to what we actually spent is crazy.”
As the summer holiday season gets under way, travelers should prepare for heavier than usual rush hours, especially starting Thursday afternoon. Other rush hours are expected Monday afternoon and early Tuesday evening, according to AAA.
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Kris Van Cleave
