YOUR VACATION COULD COST MORE THAN EVER AS AIRLINES HIKE FARES AND SLASH THOUSANDS OF FLIGHTS

Summer travel costs are at an all-time high, and frequent flyers are feeling the pressure. 

Airlines across the world have been scrambling to adjust schedules as jet fuel prices climb, making the peak summer travel season more expensive for vacationers. 

Kayak's flight data revealed domestic airfare is up almost 29 percent, outpacing the rate of inflation. That means a flight that cost $300 at this time last year would now ring up at $385 for that same flight.

Long-haul flights, especially costly transatlantic flights between the United States and Europe, are among the first to be axed when carriers look to cut fuel costs.

As a result, budget airline Norse Atlantic Airways canceled a string of flights to Los Angeles in April, including services between Los Angeles and London, over jet fuel supply concerns.

Lufthansa Group, which owns Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, revealed last month that it would scrap 20,000 short-haul flights through October because of the war’s supply disruptions. 

The cuts are expected to hit hardest at the company's major hubs in the German cities of Frankfurt and Munich, sparking fears of further price hikes for the flights left standing.

According to Eric Bowman, editor-in-chief of TravelPulse, middle-class Americans are feeling the stress of rising costs - and it is changing their summer travel plans. Meanwhile, according to Bowman, 'luxury travelers are doing just fine' and 'not slowing down at all.'

About 40 percent of Europe's jet fuel supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route that has been blocked off due to the Iran war. 

The US, by contrast, does not rely on the straight of Hormuz for its fuel - but that doesn't mean oil and transportation costs are unaffected stateside.

This massive spike in flight costs could be because airline fuel prices, even for domestic flights, are connected to the global oil market. 

There's also rising labor costs, mergers between major airlines like United and JetBlue as well as the infamous budget carrier Spirit Airlines filing for bankruptcy and eventually closing.

Even though Spirit’s flights made up for less than 2 percent of total flights in the US, according to the Wall Street Journal, the company functioned as a baseline for how cheap airline tickets could be in consumers’ minds. 

Especially on routes where Spirit was competing with larger airlines, the company offered more reasonable ticket prices. Now, there are very few budget airlines offering an alternative, with Frontier Airlines having some of the most options for cost-conscious fliers.

'Spirit Airlines collapse definitely contributes to higher airfares, but it’s not the sole culprit,' travel expert Lee Abbamonte told the Daily Mail. 'For those looking to fly cost consciously it’s going to be tough sledding for the foreseeable future.'

Meanwhile, Abbamonte is headed to Europe next week - and used airline miles for his flight instead of buying his ticket with cash. 

That's because, he said, deals and discounts offered through airline programs are the 'best value' for traveling to Europe this summer.

'If you don’t have miles, then you just have to make a decision of how important the trip is to you,' Abbamonte said. 

He added that the 'best time' to go to Europe is in the spring and fall as opposed to the summer to avoid the crowds in the highest costs. 

Alternatively, South America and Mexico and Central America 'are always great options at a much cheaper price.'

Read more

2026-06-01T19:06:09Z