Amid fuel price surge, airline prices rise to highest level since 2015

Airline ticket prices went up 18.6 percent in April, making it the biggest one-month price surge in the airline industry since 1963.

Data published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday showed airline prices are now above pre-pandemic levels. The surge in airline prices was so large in Q1 of this year that it accounted for one quarter of all US inflation in the month of April. March showed a 10.7 surge after the US government ended its travel mask mandate and summer vacations got closer.

In April, the world fuel price crisis began to catch up to the airline industry, forcing ticket prices to go up to cover the costs of racing to refine crude oil and distribute it globally.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “The index for airline fares rose 33.3 percent over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending December 1980.”

In spite of the rising cost of flying, Americans are still flocking to the airports in almost pre-pandemic numbers. According to the Transportation Security Administration, an average of between 2 and 2.2 million passengers went through airport security daily in the month of April, almost matching pre-COVID numbers as high as 2.6 million a day.

BLS also pointed out that almost everything went up in price recently, except for food and energy. “The index for all items less food and energy rose 6.2 percent over the past 12 months. Virtually all major components have increased over the span. The shelter index rose 5.1 percent over the last year, and the medical care index increased 3.2 percent. Several transportation indexes show notable increases including used cars and trucks (+22.7 percent) and new vehicles (+13.2 percent),” the report reads.