Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images
Last summer, transport-related expenses saw historic dips:
- The average domestic airline ticket plummeted to $135 — a 32% decline from 2019 and the lowest price in 2 decades.
- Average daily hotel rates fell ~40%, to $80.
- Oil prices dropped to below $0 per barrel — yes, $0 — for the first time in history, and gas hovered around $2/gallon.
But per CNBC, we may soon see these rock-bottom prices return to normal as Americans start to dip their feet back into domestic travel.
Travelers are on the move
The CDC is still advising against travel, as ~54k new cases of COVID-19 are being reported in the US every day.
But travelers aren’t shying away from airports.
According to a report, the TSA recently screened 1m+ airline passengers for 11 consecutive days — almost 2x the volume of travelers reported at the same time a year ago.
The travel site Kayak told CNBC that travel searches on its platform are up 27% week-over-week and airline queries are up 7% month-over-month.
And more travelers means a return to ‘normal’ prices
Here’s what those figures above look like now:
- Average airline ticket: $187 (+28%)
- Average daily hotel rate: $103 (+22%)
- Average national gas price: $2.88 (+44%)
