Cirium, the leading aviation analytics company, analysed airfare trends for 2023, using Cirium FM Traffic. Economy airfare has generally increased since 2023 in North America and Europe, but lower than the U.S. inflation rate.
“While airfare has risen in nominal terms in U.S. and Europe, consumers will appreciate that the increases are less than other consumables,” said Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium. “Cirium’s data teams will continue to monitor the impact on fares of increased capacity in the market, despite challenges related to the availability of aircraft, be it due to groundings, engine issues, or supply chain constraints.”
Cirium analysed airfare for the U.S. domestic market (including 13 U.S. airlines), intra-European travel, and the Transatlantic market. The data is non-directionally averaged, in U.S. dollars, not including taxes and fees. Unless otherwise noted, the fares indicated are for economy class.
U.S. Domestic Airfare
The average U.S. domestic airfare by the 13 airlines was $179.25 in 2023, an increase of 9% since the 2019 average of $164.63. Notably, Cirium also analyzed changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index from data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, where the inflation rate between 2019 and 2023 was 19%. Accordingly, airfare has risen less than other consumables — 10% lower in real terms.
Beginning in August 2023, airfare decreased by approximately 4% compared to the equivalent months in 2022. Fares in December 2023 were 9% lower than December 2022. The U.S. domestic airfare data includes Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Avelo Airlines, Breeze Airways, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, and United Airlines.
Intra-European Airfare
Fares for flights within Europe are 8% higher than in 2022 and 12% higher than in 2019. The average airfare in Europe in 2023 was $104.58 (approximately €96) compared to $93.17 (approximately €85.70)—in each case excluding taxes and fees.
Transatlantic Airfare
The average transatlantic economy fare in 2023 was $435.17, compared to $410.75 in 2022 and $381.08 in 2019. This is an increase of 14% in 2023 compared to 2019. However, Cirium data indicates
that transatlantic business class airfare is 3% lower compared to 2019, with December 2023 business class fares 7% lower compared to December 2019. The average business class fare in 2023 was $1,845.
Increase in Transatlantic Capacity
Airlines increased capacity in 2023 compared to 2022 and are poised to do the same for summer 2024, according to Cirium Diio Mi schedule data. The transatlantic carriers increased seats flown by 18% in 2023 compared to 2022. And, in the peak summer month of July 2024, the transatlantic carriers will fly almost 375,000 more seats compared to July 2023, with Air France, Delta Air Lines, and Lufthansa among the carriers increasing capacity. This action may reduce airfare on select routes.
About Cirium
Cirium is the world’s most trusted source of aviation analytics. Through powerful data and analytics, coupled with decades of industry experience, Cirium is enabling airlines, airports, travel companies, aircraft manufacturers, and financial institutions, amongst others, to make intelligent and informed decisions that improve operations, grow revenues, and enhance customer experiences.
Cirium is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The shares of RELX PLC are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.
Featured image credited to Mary Kirby
