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Airfare Is Cheaper This Summer. Here’s How to Save on Your Next Trip
By Pete Grieve MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Flight prices are down significantly for travel within the U.S., while the savings are smaller for trips abroad.
Taking a flight this summer will likely be less expensive than last year, especially for domestic travel.
Flight prices in the U.S. for Memorial Day weekend are 9.5% lower compared to a year ago, according to a new report from Hopper. The average domestic airfare is $260, down from $287 a year ago.
For the summer as a whole, Hopper expects domestic airfare to cost an average of $305, compared to $324 last year, with flight prices peaking around the July 4 and Labor Day holidays.
Airlines are prepared for an increase in the number of travelers flying this Memorial Day, with 6.6% more seat capacity on flights from U.S. airports between Thursday, May 23, and Tuesday, May 28, according to the report.
To find the cheapest flights this summer, Hopper recommends waiting until Saturday to take off. “Travelers looking to save on airfare are departing on Saturday of the long weekend and returning on Tuesday for around $180 per ticket. These travelers will save 32% off peak airfare (for Friday to Monday trips), or about $90 per ticket,” the report said.
Why flight prices are falling
In the summer of 2022, high jet fuel prices and limited seats led to some of the most expensive airfares in recent history. But last summer, lower fuel prices and improved seat capacity meant more affordable air travel, and a record number of people took advantage.
Flights have gotten less expensive in recent months: According to the latest Consumer Price Index, airline fares in April 2024 were down 5.8% compared to the year before. Lower flight prices in 2024 should drive another increase in summer air travel.
In 2023, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than 264 million people from Memorial Day to Labor Day, which was an all-time high. The TSA forecasts that this summer will be another record period for air travel.
The agency expects to screen 18 million people over Memorial Day weekend, which would be a 6.4% increase from last year.
While domestic flight prices are down considerably, international flight prices are closer in line with year-ago levels.
Trips to Europe and Asia are 2% cheaper than a year ago, while Mexico and Central America flight prices are down 4% over a year. Trips to Canada are 5% more expensive and prices for South American destinations are up 1%.
International trips will cost $1,000 or more on many routes. For example, the average cost is $974 for a Europe trip and $1,519 for Asia this summer.
How to save on flights this summer
For cheaper flights this summer, experts recommend:
- Traveling midweek instead of on the weekend. (You can often save $100 or more.)
- Booking for travel dates before June 15 or after Aug. 31 if your destination is in Europe.
- Using a flight search tool like Kayak Explore or Google Flights Explore to review the cheapest options if your travel dates or destination city is flexible.
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Pete Grieve is a New York-based reporter who covers personal finance news. At Money, Pete covers trending stories that affect Americans’ wallets on topics including car buying, insurance, housing, credit cards, retirement and taxes. He studied political science and photography at the University of Chicago, where he was editor-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon. Pete began his career as a professional journalist in 2019. Prior to joining Money, he was a health reporter for Spectrum News in Ohio, where he wrote digital stories and appeared on TV to provide coverage to a statewide audience. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Sun-Times and CNN Politics. Pete received extensive journalism training through Report for America, a nonprofit organization that places reporters in newsrooms to cover underreported issues and communities, and he attended the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in 2021. Pete has discussed his reporting in interviews with outlets including the Columbia Journalism Review and WBEZ (Chicago's NPR station). He’s been a panelist at the Chicago Headline Club’s FOIA Fest and he received the Institute on Political Journalism’s $2,500 Award for Excellence in Collegiate Reporting in 2017. An essay he wrote for Grey City magazine was published in a 2020 book, Remembering J. Z. Smith: A Career and its Consequence.