Summer fares drop on some domestic routes

It’s been a long time since I’ve put the words “cheap,” “travel,” and “summer” in the same sentence, but watch what I’m about to do here: This summer, a drop in the average cost of airfare is making it cheap(er) to travel. To be able to say this on only the second day of summer has got me contemplating a trip or two.

USA Today reports on the phenomenon and even names destinations that are cheaper to get to this season. These lower fares are the result of increased passenger capacity without corresponding demand.

It’s a build-it-and-they-will-come situation that hasn’t quite panned out yet. But passenger numbers could catch up soon, and if these new seats start filling up, fares will creep back up again. So don’t expect this to last indefinitely. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years watching airfare prices, it’s to not take cheap fares for granted.

There is some nuance to the announcement though. Fares to Florida, and Orlando specifically, Denver, and Chicago are lower than average. But cross-country flights are higher. And international flights are still expensive. With the Europe-U.S. open-skies agreement scheduled to take effect next March, it will be interesting to see how much less expensive Europe fares are this time next year.