Do any of your relatives live outside of Pittsburgh so that it requires a tedious plane flight to visit them?
Believe it or not a large chunk of today’s population relies on airplane travel to visit relatives that reside in different parts of the country over the 2011 holiday season.
The demand for air travel may be driving an increase in prices. Let’s factor in several variables and see what is coercing the hike in airfare prices.
According to Rick Seaney, the CEO of FareCompare.com, all of the major airline companies have raised fares by 20% this holiday season; the continuous plummeting economy doesn’t help the situation either.
In addition to major airline companies’ attempts to empty your pockets, is that the price of jet fuel has skyrocketed over the past six months.
Moreover, Gerald Arpey, the CEO of American Airlines, states, “We now expect to pay $1.9 billion more for fuel this year than we did last year.” Obviously, this contributes to the high prices of airfare.
Widespread research now states that is a better idea to wait to purchase airfare; this is due to the extra availability for seats throughout different airline companies. However, there are no premium packages that are regularly offered on websites, like Expedia.com. Therefore, holiday packages won’t be offered this season.
Not to mention, flights from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia have recently skyrocketed to $700.00 for a roundtrip flight effective as of January 8. This is extremely remarkable due to the fact that a 45-minute trip that usually costs $118.00 per roundtrip, according to CNNMoney, can skyrocket nearly $600.00.
What caused this sudden increase?
Well, Southwest Airlines, the only other major airline company that flies routes without layovers, is dropping services from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. This leaves US Airways the only airline company that flies from Pittsburgh to Philly.
US Airways declined to comment on their airfare hike.
As a result of US Airways increasing their airfare, the economy may plummet and reverse its course as the economy is skyrocketing as of now. A Pennsylvania Senator sent a harsh letter to the Headquarters of US Airways stating that this airfare hike is unnecessary and could be detrimental to the economy. US Airways remained stubborn and refused to comment.
Here are some tips to save money and “stretch your buck” for the holiday season:
– Order airfare via discount ticket websites. Often these sites will lower prices to lure consumers.
– Try to order your airfare as late as possible so you can avoid high fees and charges.
– Avoid the busiest days of the holiday season. Usually, they will increase prices significantly on important holiday days because of the urgency of travel.
