Say goodbye to $ 30 plane tickets. The era of cheap flights is coming to an end

Are you finally thinking of taking that vacation? You’re not alone.

Millions of Americans, many locked up for a year, hit the road and take flight, as more people get vaccinated against Covid-19. President Joe Biden said last week that all American adults would be eligible for a vaccine by May.

As more and more people become convinced that the threat of Covid-19 is fading, it becomes increasingly difficult to find the lowest fares, some in double digits, that airlines offered when they were over. desperate to fill planes. Hotel prices are also increasing.

Travel research site Kayak, said summer travel searches had increased 27% every week since Biden’s announcement, and air fares for the top 100 U.S. destinations were up 7%. month to month.

“Domestic air fares are increasing. While discounts can still be found, they no longer fall into the hands of consumers,” said Jamie Baker, airline analyst JP Morgan. “Reduced fares increasingly require a hunt, and for many consumers who have been locked in for a year, they are probably not worth the effort.”

The cheapest domestic leisure airfares, which include promotional fares that airlines send to your inbox, were $ 59.48 as of March 15, still 26% lower than a similar week in 2019 but in 2019. up more than 6% on the week, according to Harrell Associates, a company that tracks airfares. Average leisure rates were nearly $ 187, up almost 5% on the week and almost 9% more than a similar point in 2019.

On Monday, airline executives said bookings resumed in March and stretched into the summer. U.S. carriers are set to lose an average of $ 150 million per day this quarter, according to Airlines for America, but CEOs of United Airlines and Delta Air Lines say the hike will finally stop their cash consumption. this spring. JetBlue is recalling flight attendants unpaid a month earlier due to higher than expected demand.

“As long as there is no setback, we are on the road to recovery and we can put these days of talking about spending money, layoffs and things like that largely in the rearview mirror.” CEO Scott Kirby told CNBC’s “Squawk Box”. Tuesday.

The U.S. hotel occupancy rate from March 13 to March 13 averaged over 51 percent, the highest in over a year, according to hotel data analytics firm STR. In hot vacation spots like Miami, occupancy is nearly 70% with average rates of $ 228 a night, the highest prices since February 2020.

Jamila Ross, owner and founder of Copper Door B&B in Miami, said she had reduced her January and February rates by more than 40% to $ 100 a night, but had since been able to increase them to $ 120.

Covid was particularly devastating for its hotel as it was so dependent on the cruise industry due to its proximity to the port.

She said the hotel was now about 70% full, up from 40% last month, although she is withholding some inventory due to Covid.

“We want to be a responsible brand,” she said. “We cannot afford any kind of slippage.”

Maura Gannon, general manager of The Mermaid & the Alligator, a nine-bedroom hotel in Key West, Florida, said, “As soon as people got the shots, the phones rang.”

She said some travelers are asking about bookings in May and June, which have traditionally been part of the low demand season.

Some travelers seek upscale accommodations that allow them to continue to physically distance themselves from other guests.

“The villas are the premieres all year round,” said Viktoria Riley, director of marketing at the Ocean Club, a Four Seasons resort in the Bahamas. Three-bedroom villas cost $ 16,500 a night in low season which starts in mid-April and ends in late November.

Granted, rates and room rates have taken a deep plunge into the pandemic and there are still deals out there, especially with business travelers still mostly on the sidelines. Demand is still far from pre-pandemic levels.

In the third quarter of 2020, according to the latest available data, U.S. domestic flights averaged $ 244.79, the lowest in more than 25 years, not counting inflation, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Airlines, however, have significantly reduced capacity to meet low demand, which means there are fewer seats on the market. They are expected to add more seats as the peak summer season approaches.

And with much of international travel still banned, domestic leisure destinations have become the place to go.

Delta Air Lines, for example, on Friday unveiled nine new destinations or increased service to outdoor vacation destinations like Glacier Park, Mont., And Jackson Hole, Wyo.

“American travelers are sort of diverted to the United States and the small number of countries that we are allowed to visit,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel industry consultancy. . “It changes the demand patterns and therefore the prices of airline tickets.”