The steep rise in international and domestic airfares has priced seven million Australians out of travel as one in three Aussies still plan to travel over the busy Christmas and summer holiday period.
New research by comparison site Finder found around a third of Australians (36% – equivalent to 7.2 million people) was deterred from travelling due to soaring airfares and rising travel costs.
Discount economy airfares were up 56 per cent between April to August 2022 compared to the same period last year, according to the ACCC.
Pent-up travel demand, limited airline capacity and high fuel prices are some of the factors contributing to the spike in airfare costs.
Eye-watering airfare prices
The Karryon: Together In Travel community shared some of the overpriced airfares currently doing the rounds on Facebook recently.
They included domestic airfares ranging from $1,900 for an Adelaide–Kununurra return economy flight to a Sydney-Perth round trip in Qantas Business at $6,880.
International airfares to popular destinations in Asia Pacific include Qantas return flights to Japan at $7,000, Brisbane–Tokyo return flights for $11,000 and Sydney-Auckland return economy flights for $3,000.
For Aussies travelling to the Americas, be prepared to fork out for flights. Current business class tickets sold include Sydney–Minneapolis return flights at $31,000, Melbourne–Orlando return flights for $27,000, Melbourne–Colorado return flights for $23,000, Brisbane–Chicago return flights for $25,000 and Brisbane–Chile flights for a whopping $39,000.
Even economy return flights to North America are pricey right now, like Brisbane–Ottawa for $4,625 and Sydney–LAX–Detroit for $8,500.
It’s no wonder the Finder survey of more than 1,000 people noted that 31 per cent had found travel to be too expensive, with five per cent of respondents cancelling their holiday plans due to prohibitive prices.
However, despite the price hike, 35 per cent of Aussies still plan to travel over the Christmas period –whether that’s interstate (14%), intrastate (14%) or overseas (8%).
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were 1,040,550 departures in September 2022 – a monthly increase of 98,340 trips.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday travel deals
For savvy travellers looking to bag a bargain, annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are on the horizon, with many travel companies offering significant deals and value-added offers across tours, cruises, hotels and resorts.
Check out our Black Friday Travel Deals wrap for the lowdown of what’s on offer, with many sales already underway.
