With the CDC giving a cautious okay for fully-vaccinated U.S. residents to travel, and airlines reporting rapidly-rising ticket sales to leisure destinations, it seems likely that some of the pandemic travel bargains may soon end as the industry tries to make back some of its losses.
The recovery in terms of passenger numbers appears to be well under way, with CEOs at Alaska and United reporting that their domestic leisure business is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, although business travel still lags far behind. That pickup is at least partly responsible for the return of some clawback of loosened restrictions on basic economy tickets and on holding middle seats empty.
Last year, second-quarter ticket sales were down 95% from the previous year, and ticket prices had dropped an average of 28%, some more, to try to fill any seats at all. With passenger numbers returning, and many people determined to ‘get away’ as soon as possible, it seems likely that prices will be heading up.
