NEW YORK–The price to board an airliner in the United States has risen for the fourth straight year, making it increasingly expensive to fly almost anywhere.The average roundtrip ticket within the US, including tax, reached US$363.42 last year, up more than US$7 from the prior year, according to an Associated Press analysis of travel data collected from millions of flights throughout the country.The 2 per cent increase outpaced inflation, which stood at 1.5 per cent.
Airfares have risen nearly 12 per cent since their low in the depths of the Great Recession in 2009, when adjusted for inflation, the analysis showed.Ticket prices have increased as airlines eliminated unprofitable routes, packed more passengers into planes and merged with one another, providing travellers with fewer options.Today, 84 per cent of seats are filled with paying passengers, up from 82 per cent in 2009.
"Anyone traveling today will know that those flights are full," said Chuck Thackston, managing director of data and analytics for the Airlines Reporting Corp, which processes ticket transactions for airlines and more than 9,400 travel agencies, including websites such as Expedia and Orbitz. "Just through supply and demand, those fares will go up."
And none of this factors in the bevy of extra fees travelers now face for checking bags, getting extra legroom or even purchasing a blanket, meal or pair of headphones. The typical traveller pays an additional US$50 roundtrip to check a single suitcase.Those fees, introduced in 2008 to offset losses from rising fuel prices, now bring in US$3.4 billion a year for US airlines and have helped them return consistent annual profits for the last four years.
The AP reviewed data from 6 million annual flights taken in the US, analysing fees and government on-time records along with fare data from the Airlines Reporting Corp.Jean Medina, spokeswoman for Airlines for America, the airlines' trade and lobbying group, said over the long-term fares have not climbed as fast as inflation and that flying "remains a great bargain.""Carriers continue to invest in their products with new planes, new services and new destinations," Medina said. "It's a great time to fly."
Airlines are able to push fare and fee hikes because there is less competition."You get some pricing power as a result," said airline consultant Robert Mann.A wave of consolidation that started in 2008 has left four US airlines–American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines–controlling more than 80 per cent of the domestic air-travel market. Discount airlines such as Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines have grown at breakneck speed but still carry a tiny fraction of overall passengers.
AP