Experts predict Christmas travel costs to skyrocket for Australians

Heading into the silly season, experts say Aussies shouldn’t hold out hope for any such deals over the anticipated Christmas travel period, and even heading into 2023 – with rising jet fuel prices, fewer scheduled flights, and pent-up travel demands have all contributed to some of the highest airfare prices seen in five years.

In September, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released its quarterly report into airline competition in Australia. The report – along with airline market results – showed domestic airfares increased significantly between April and August.

But with the demand came a significant shift in airfare prices with the ACCC revealing the cheapest economy airfares were 56 per cent higher in August 2022 than in April 2022.

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Speaking to SBS, David Beirman – tourism expert at the University of Technology in Sydney – said high prices are likely to stick around while demand is high and debt lingers for airlines.

“For 50 years basically between about 1970 and the beginning of Covid-19 in 2020, airfares had actually gone down, year upon year, both in real dollar terms and in actual dollar terms,” he said.

“Covid-19 spoiled all of that … because of the incredible restrictions on airline operations, airlines were basically losing money hand over fist … so they built up this massive amount of debt, and most of them have to pay it back.”

Mr Beirman said that increasing fuel prices coupled with a lingering lack in staff plaguing some airlines has created the perfect storm for travellers this holiday period.

“Factors such as increased fuel prices, trying to pay off losses, paying for new staff … a whole lot of different factors that really came into airfares actually going up,” he explained.

Monash University aviation expert Professor Greg Bambers said that with no restrictions in place for travellers compared to the past two festive seasons, demand is far outweighing supply in terms of flights available.

“There is a high demand; people have not been able to travel to catch up with their friends and family or business customers or suppliers for nearly three years and there’s a big pent-up demand,” he said.

“So people (are) trying to travel but there’s a reduced capacity … the airlines have cut the number of flights, so there’s a high demand for fewer seats, and the airlines have ratcheted up the prices.

“Airlines are prioritising profit over people.”

And it’s not just here – but the squeeze is being felt around the world.

According to Business Insider,travellers in the US are being warned they’ll pay close to 40 per cent more for domestic air travel this year during the Christmas season compared to the holiday last year and just over 30 per cent more than in 2019.

With Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, experts predict the Friday prior – being…