Why have plane tickets double in price for 2024

[Holidayplan]

Looking for flights for European destinations in May half term but the prices have double up. I understand it has to do with inflation but can Simon explain this to me better please? It is the flights from UK that are extortionate not the returns.

I mostly book cross Atlantic flights, is it a bit soon? Usually with American flights if you book 11 months out that's when they're at some of their highest prices and better to wait a couple months, not sure if it's the same with European.

A mixture of things:
Strikes - airport and airline staff have demanded higher pay.
Covid - airlines are not the sort of businesses that you can shut one day and then reopen the next. Many airlines are still not back to full capacity. Also, some of the staff who left the industry during the pandemic have come back having negotiated better working conditions and pay meaning staffing costs have gone up.
During the pandemic, as a way to avoid losing customers, many airlines offered credits/vouchers instead of full refunds to customers that had bookings cancelled. Many of those credits/vouchers had an expiry date for either this year or next year. Customers are now booking flights before their credits/vouchers expire, causing an increase in demand.
On top of this, strikes and cancellations has fuelled pent-up desire for travel.
Airbus and Boeing are struggling to deliver new aircraft on time leaving airlines with fewer planes than expected.
Increase in working from home - as a result, business travel has failed to bounce back meaning a greater reliance on revenue from economy seats.
Fuel prices - apparently oil producers would rather supply energy for cars and for homes.
Stricter legislation to reduce emissions - airlines have to invest in more efficient planes and are required to buy emission allowances to offset their carbon footprint.

Will wait; hopefully they will go down as the prices are redicoulos at the moment

Does it coincide with the Olympics? That will put prices up in Europe

I think Covid has made people appreciate travel more - I’m certainly going on more trips than I did pre-2020. Who knows when my absolute favourite hobby will be taken away again?!

Despite the COL crisis, everyone around me is doing a lot more travelling. Perhaps because bigger purchases (mainly moving house) are becoming out of reach people are focusing on experiences instead.

@Holidayplan

All of what @Fivemoreminutes1 said....

To some degree we're back to the state of play pre-Covid....it's been a dire few years for airlines since then but now we're seeing an adjustment. I wouldn't assume prices will come down, as always it's a gamble.

Obviously (?) the Olympics would only really be a factor for to/from France, specifically Paris, and they are not until late July into August.

It is the flights from UK that are extortionate not the returns.

For anything ex-UK you need to look at Airport Passenger Duty, which does tend to make flight out of the UK more expensive than inbounds, though that's most apparent on Long Haul Flights.

I've just had a notification that EasyJet have released flights for up to June next year and "book earliest for cheapest" so maybe have a look.

That’s interesting alright. Where were you thinking of going?

I've just checked the trip I did this year and the prices are exactly the same (£2 cheaper in fact) I think it's availability or lack there of putting prices up in school holidays

Easyjet flights until the end of May look pretty reasonable to me. Can't see much of an increase!

Easyjet usually give a pre warning before therly release their May half term flights so was a bit surprised to see they'd gone live yesterday! Normally I'm up at 6am to bag a bargain.

Our flights for May 2023 for 4 of us to Majorca were £545 when we booked last year. They're £900 when I looked yesterday.

Not sure what we'll do tbh. I guess we'll just have to swallow the increase in cost.

Good summary

@Sallycinnamum Me too - I always book first thing when released, but was expecting October time to book for May as per last year.. hotel prices aren't finalised yet so reluctant to book flights when I don't know where we will stay and how much that has increased by either! The hotel we stayed at this year does have prices out and is over 2K more... Will hold on until later in year or even January in hope prices come down again. I am a creature of habit and don't like not having flights booked once out though.

Brexit. Aviation fuel is purchased in $ and since Brexit the £ is weaker against the $
The airlines lost loads of money during the pandemic and are in no rush to increase capacity as demand outstrips supply. (your next flight will likely be very full)
Prices will not go down anytime soon so the earlier you book the cheaper it'll be.

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/04/26/are-cheap-flights-a-thing-of-the-past-heres-why-your-summer-trip-is-so-expensive

Some routes will have larger price increases than others. If you’re looking at flights to somewhere which is just taking off in popularity or is very ‘in’ right now, then the demand is obviously going to outstrip supply and prices will increase accordingly.

If you can find cheap flights to Dublin flying out to your destination from there will be massively cheaper. Even factoring in the cheap flight to dublin.

We are looking at somewhere in Greece with Easyjet. With those prices we will have to cut down on the number of trips we do.

Will look at going through Dublin and other airlines.

Thank you

We just booked flights and can’t see a huge difference, maybe it depends on airport and whether it’s term time, we are going outwith so may make a difference.

Flight prices rarely go down, they mostly increase I’m afraid.

It's also supply and demand - despite all the increase in charges/ mortgages people want to go on hols and find the money.

Just booked flights for Ibiza, price was the same as this year (-£2 actually) but not school holidays

LOL at ‘Brexit’.

Flight prices are going up all around the world as fuel prices go up, and governments increase green taxes on airlines to try to address climate change. This is expected to increase.

Against this, business travel has plunged (hello Zoom) which means the expensive tickets now have to be paid by holidaymakers.

There are lots of articles on this but the direction is the same. Prices of flights will go up.

However, hotel prices are not subject to the same pressures so hopefully will not rise as much.

We booked EasyJet to Menorca, at May bank holiday, on the day they were released. £450 each which I think is very expensive however I don’t usually travel in school holidays .

Some destinations have definitely gone up massively. We have normally paid for Europe in school holidays no more than £600 for 4; for Slovenia we paid around £750 for 4 to go this summer; so £400 per person is a massive increase. I am going to have to find a cheaper hobby.

Green taxes are definitely working for me; can’t justify short trips with those prices anymore

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66042289