Plane Ticket Prices Have Finally Fallen -- Here's How Much You Can Save

In the last year, cost has steadily surpassed the pandemic and fear of related travel problems as the primary reason keeping some from taking their dream trips.

One survey from NerdWallet found that 23% of Americans are not taking a trip this summer for financial reasons while many of those who are choose to drive instead of fly to lower the cost.

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The news that will come as a relief for many with wanderlust is that, at least for now, airfare prices appear to have peaked.

Airfare Prices Are Coming Down, Finally

While the consumer price index measuring overall inflation slowed to 3% in June (another record after a 40-decade peak in 2022), Department of Labor numbers show that airplane prices actually fell by 8% between June and May.

Between June 2022 and 2023, the drop is a much more dramatic 18.9%. Data from price-tracking website Hopper found that the average cost for a domestic ticket fell to $275 from the $410 seen in May 2022.

While overall fares have come down quite dramatically, the picture is not universal across all destinations — amid record-high demand from U.S.-based travelers, the cost of flying to many popular European cities are still at an all-time high.

"For the last few months, it's flights over to Europe where many travelers are often seeing eye-popping prices," writes Gunnar Olson, a flight deal analyst for Thrifty Traveler. "Europe flights have seemingly stayed expensive while domestic flights get cheaper but the fever might be breaking for transatlantic travel, too."

The strongest drops have been observed domestically and to nearby destinations such as Mexico and Canada.

Here's How You Can Score a Cheap Trip This Summer and Fall

According to Thrifty Traveler's calculations, flights to Calgary from many U.S. cities have dropped to the $300 range from the $800 some were paying to visit nearby Banff National Park a year ago. They have also been seeing flights from San Diego International Airport to Maui for $148.

"We've even seen the return of sub-$100 domestic flights," Olson wrote. "That was unthinkable last summer when domestic flight prices were regularly in the $400s and $500s roundtrip. But lately, we've seen jaw-dropping, $96 fares to destinations like New Orleans (MSY), Asheville (AVL), Myrtle Beach (MYR), and several more fantastic cities for a trip this summer or fall."

Many travelers have techniques they swear by for scoring cheap flights — some are convinced that booking on a Sunday and traveling on a Wednesday can save one hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

While those elusive "last-minute flight deals" do exist, booking well in advance will be what truly saves you money. Numbers crunched by flight aggregator CheapAir.com recently found that one can save an average of $286 per ticket on flights to Asia from the U.S. by booking 10 months before one's travel date.

For flights between North America and Europe, an average $121 can be saved by buying one's ticket 10 months ahead of time while those going to Mexico and the Caribbean can save a respective $95 and $79 if booking six months in advance — savings that may sound attractive but may be difficult for those who do not know their schedule that far in advance.

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