Want to get away? Here's why October is seeing the cheapest airfares since 2013
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
October airfares haven’t been this cheap in six years, making the slump between summer and winter holidays suddenly more exciting for people looking to get away.
Tickets to domestic destinations cost an average of $211 this month, according to an analysis by Hopper , an online travel booking platform. That’s a 3.1 percent decrease from this time last year, according to Hayley Berg, Hopper’s chief economist.
It’s not just domestic deals. Travel experts say airfares are falling for international routes, making this the perfect time to travel abroad.
“This year, these low prices are compounded by the same factors we've seen pushing down prices all year,” Berg told NBC News. “Increased competition in the airline industry has driven airlines to expand their fleets and drop prices in an effort to capture a larger piece of the growing demand for travel. In addition to this, we've witnessed the continued entry and expansion of low-cost carriers into the U.S. market.”
Fares to Iceland are forecast to be 42 percent lower than usual for U.S. travelers. They can also expect to see fares slashed by as much as 40 percent for travel to Bangkok, Thailand and 32 percent for Seoul, South Korea. Anyone looking for some warmer weather can expect to save 36 percent on flights to Cancun and 33 percent off a ticket to Medellin, Colombia, according to Hopper’s analysis.
Fares are forecast to be around 30 to 40 percent lower than usual for U.S. travelers to locations such as Iceland, Thailand, and South Korea.
The online booking platform used its historical archive of one trillion flight prices, along with other factors, such as airline capacity, seasonal demand, and jet fuel prices to analyze average October prices. Jet fuel prices fell 6.3 percent compared to the previous month of reporting data, according to Hopper.
Scott Keyes, founder of Scott's Cheap Flights, a newsletter that lets people follow airports and receive alerts when bargain airfares are found, said this is “the golden age of cheap flights.”
“There is a question that lingers,” he told NBC News. “There have been fares from New York to Paris and New York to Rome for $250. How can the airlines afford to fly people across the ocean at that price and still make a profit?”
Airlines are able to offer these bargain fares because they make their revenue in other areas.
“Most of the revenue they are making comes from premium tickets, people paying for business and first class, and a lot of the money also comes from selling frequent flier miles and credit cards,” he said. “That revenue is subsidizing economy tickets.”
While this is the best October for air travel in recent years, the Hopper team said they aren’t seeing any major effects of the Boeing 737 Max being grounded, with the exception of smaller changes on local routes. United and American Airlines still have a fleet of grounded Max jets , which haven’t yet been cleared for takeoff by the Federal Aviation Administration, leaving them with fewer planes to fly. The model was grounded in March after a flaw in an automated feature was blamed for two deadly crashes.
Finally, there’s good news for people who want to wait to book their flights. Berg advises anyone wanting to lock in their Thanksgiving and Christmas plans to book by Halloween.
However, she said “flight prices will remain mostly stable through the end of the year, with a short-term peak around the Thanksgiving holiday.” In other words, anyone who is tempted to take a spur-of-the-moment trip should still have plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the low prices for the next six months.
Cheaper airfares should hold until next March, when spring break demand sends the average domestic ticket price to $227, according to Hopper’s analysis.
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Almost every airline that I looked at was offering bargain basement prices, so if you can get away, this would be a great time to go.
But where would you go if you could?
R U Punkin Us ?
It is Halloween, season, but to taste
less is more than, more or less, what ever it is less than,
but i'm having difficulty picturing
whatever, i guess
Now would I do that?
At this time of the year (Halloween) I, with a friend, take a weekend trip to Salem MA. Everything there is about the "witch trials". Believe it or not It's very popular. I don't need a plane for that.
We also squeezed in a trip to the Topsfield Fair with the grand kids. Again - no need for a plane.
On the first weekend of November is the "Breeders Cup". We round up the old gang (similar to the Blues Brothers) and spend the weekend at Foxwoods Casino in CT. They do the BC up big. Again - no need for a plane.
Maybe that's why air fare is low at this time of the year? An ideal time to visit the UK
Vic,
I think you misunderstand. The ticket prices are cheap to go not only in Oct, but throughout most of the year. My sister got really cheap ones to England and Ireland in July!
And yes a good time to go to the UK for sure!
Why do you think that is for a business that always seems to be struggling?
Las Vegas
And what happens in Vegas...
I think that there could be a bit of fear of flying due to the problems grounding the 737 Max jets, some strange crashes in the Pacific, and so many people might consider a different kind of holiday than one requiring flying.
In my case, where would I go? Sure as hell not to Europe these days, but I might want to fly to Canada to pick up and bring some of the things I have in storage there, and to visit my daughter and hope that my son would bring his family from Wisconsin for a short visit. I don't particularly want to go to the USA to visit him, because I don't have a gun and a bulletproof vest.
a gun and a bulletproof vest,
huh...
whatever you envision it to be i guess, but i'm guessing your damn wrong about the vast majority of the United States.
Yea, there are very tiny microcasims that would/should require such attire, but you must seek out more so than stumble upon.
When were you stateside last ?
You're slightly exagerated falsehood, about that which a small portion, in proportion, of all of our hoods, would be possibly worn inside outside while being on the insides of outing the coach, on First Class, Bingo night B - 4 a taxi is required to dock a boat load of tarriff free merchandise you're not sending me duty free documenting the progress of the NBA , in a true example, of squelching free speech.
12 years ago, but unless all I read is fake news, gun crime has blossomed since. I really feel safer not going to a country where people panic and run for cover when they hear a motorcycle backfire.
you've been Trumpeed
LMAO!
I don't need to fly where I'm going. The Rainbow River in north central Florida. It's a 1/2 hour from the house.
Do you fish there? I'm going fishing tomorrow.
Generally I don't fish there. I usually go to Rodman Reservoir for hawg bass.
I want to catch a big bass but I'll probably catch a small bream
Maybe you'll catch one like this.
I caught a cold once, i just let it swim through my heart and it was the one that got a way
I can only hope
That's one big fish!