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April 2, 2007

Why Are Summer Airfares So High This Year?

I
have a meeting in Cody, Wyoming, in late June of this year, and so have been monitoring airfares to Cody (or to Billings, MT) for a couple of months now. This is an itinerary I have to travel about once a year for business. In past years, I have always found airfares in the range of $400 or so; this year, roundtrip fares into Cody (from Raleigh) haven't budged below a whopping $650 or so, and Billings is only about $50 or $75 cheaper.

What's going on with summer airfares this year? Am I missing something? Tips from savvy travelers would be much appreciated.

Posted by Eric at April 2, 2007 8:57 AM

Comments

If you're ever in Cody, Wyoming, just ask for Wild Bob!

I believe that the airlines are anticipating massive increases in the price of fuel. I sure am.

Posted by: Bob Munck at April 2, 2007 11:17 AM

Weird. Prices are very near what you said were historical averages for the same flight this month but switch to the end of June and they skyrocket. And it's not just for a week or two which might coincide with some event - it starts taking off in mid-May and doesn't come back down until August. The time frame lines up with summer vacation from school but I don't see vast numbers of people flying to Billings and Cody for vacation. What the heck would they do once they got there? I'm going to invest in rental cars at the Billings airport this summer and make a mint. (Naturally this would be the year I'm visiting my sister in Montana in July.)
BTW, for some reason it's much cheaper to fly into Jackson Hole at that time of year so you might consider that option.

Posted by: Mojo at April 2, 2007 9:33 PM

Have you seen http://www.farecast.com/ which allegedly predicts airfares rising and falling and advises on the best time to buy?
[Not an ad, just a site a coworker recently pointed out which might come in handy.]

Posted by: Lis Riba at April 6, 2007 10:10 PM