Looking to fly somewhere this winter?
Some advice, using some football parlance: Go long.
According to The Economist (via the analytics site FlowingData and data provided by Expedia), airline ticket prices have been steadily decreasing for transatlantic and long-haul flights. Ticket costs overall have actually been going down since 2014, but the savings on longer journeys (over 3100 miles) have fallen a whopping 30-50% on economy-class seats during that time frame, while shorter trips have seen savings of just under 10%.
Why has longer recently been better? The Economist sites the falling cost of jet fuel, increased competition from low-cost carriers and state-owned Chinese carriers undercutting their rivals.
So take a big trip next time out, but do it soon: The report posits that rising fuel costs and decreased airline profits could mean these savings will probably never get lower than they are now.
Photo by Menglong Bao on Unsplash
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.