The constant rise in airline ticket prices is one of the hottest topics for global travelers. Whether you book the flight during a thunderstorm or clear your internet cookies before searching for the best deals, nothing works anymore.

So, why are the prices looking high and the limited booking options? Let’s find out.

Why Are the Prices of Flights Increasing?

The escalation in the prices of flight tickets can be due to both internal and external reasons. Let’s take a look at some of these reasons below.

1. Consolidation

The airline companies have consolidated a lot over the past few years. Thanks to mergers and bankruptcies, there are now only a few major airlines in the UK.

For example, Air France and KLM are considered single companies. What’s more, Lufthansa is also involved in many smaller airlines such as Eurowings and Austrian Airlines.

There is less competition when the airlines merge or partner up. As a result, the incentive to offer low fares to win customers also disappears.

2. Price of Fuel

The fuel price is another huge reason that airline ticket prices keep soaring higher and higher. In 1996, the cost of the fuel was €0.48 per gallon. However, the cost per gallon now is €6.61.

So, while the fuel was only 10% of the industry’s operating cost in 2001, it now consumes about 35% of their budget. Therefore, the price has pretty much quadrupled for the airlines.

Since the airlines cannot bear all of the increase in fuel prices, they pass some of it down to their consumers, which leads to higher fares.

3. Capacity Control

Capacity control also hugely impacts airline ticket prices. According to Seth Kaplan of Airline Weekly, if you reduce the supply despite the constant demand, you can raise the average fares because, in this way, you’ll not be carrying the price-sensitive traveler.

That’s what the airlines these days have done. Even though the industry is significant, domestic seats in the air are still limited.

4. Competition

You might have noticed that the different routes of the same distance cost differently. This difference in cost is not because it costs an additional amount to operate but because the competitors are charging.

Since the small airport’s lack competition, flying into them becomes relatively expensive.

5. Last Minute Booking

Sometimes, getting an inflated ticket price can be due to your laziness. If you keep waiting until the last moment, you’ll have to spend a hefty amount of money booking a flight.

How to Find the Best Flight Deals?

Even though air travel is pricier now than a few years ago, it doesn’t mean you can’t find the best deal for yourself.

However, you’ll need to be a bit more flexible with your travel dates and time to achieve this. That’s because the prices of airline tickets vary a lot depending upon the day of the week and upcoming holidays.

Other than that, being flexible with your routes is another way to get cheap flights. For example, it might cost you less to first fly to London and then take an airline to Amsterdam instead of flying directly to Amsterdam from your city.

Final Words

Hopefully, now you’ll know why airline tickets are so expensive. Therefore, you must avoid getting into situations that can cost a fortune to book your preferable flight.