Flight tickets to become more expensive despite sales returning to pre-pandemic levels

Demand for flights with Easyjet at peak periods has returned to pre-pandemic levels, the airline has recently announced. Ticket bookings for Christmas, the ski-season and other peak times have seen a boost in sales with Easyjet stating, as per The Guardian:

Peak holiday weeks this winter, such as October half-term and Christmas week in the UK, are back to normal levels of volume.

The news will be a relief for the airline and the airline industry as the sector slowly recovers from the pandemic restrictions over the last two years. Despite the upturn in sales however, Easyjet have still been increasing the price of tickets in order to cope with rising fuel costs, a stronger US dollar and demands for higher wages, as per the BBC.

Strong demand

Whilst demand for peak periods is strong, ticket sales outside of these windows is still below normal and so the airline still has some way to go before it’s business as usual. Easyjet boss Johan Lundgren commented on the situation, as per The Guardian.

We just had a half-term in October that was strong. We see strong demand for Christmas, for new year, for the ski season. But outside these peak periods, it’s fair to say there’s still a need to stimulate the level of demand. There are big cost increases also coming towards the industry. EasyJet has historically done well in times of economic challenges because people gravitate towards value.

Despite the increase in ticket prices across the board, Lundgren stated that half of all tickets sold until next September would still cost less than £50.

Not the only one

Even during a cost of living crisis it seems that people are still willing to set aside money for their holidays abroad each year and budget airlines afford that luxury at minimal cost. However, it is possible that prices will continue to rise, and Lundgren declined to comment on how much tickets for next summer could increase but said that like all airlines, it faced cost pressures including higher fuel costs, a stronger US dollar and demands for higher wages.

The other major budget airline Ryanair also said recently its prices are rising, with boss Michael O'Leary warning that the era of the €10 ticket is over. The average fare would increase from €40 to €50 over the next five years, he said in August, according to the BBC.

With the increase in demand in travel so too is there a rise in demand for labour and in a recent Easyjet recruitment drive they had 19,000 applications for 2,000 jobs next summer. Things are at least definitely starting to look up for the aviation industry and the UK economy as a whole. As we push through the cost of living crisis, hopefully a summer holiday will still be within reach for everyone.

Sources used:

- BBC 'EasyJet holiday bookings up despite cost-of-living crisis'

- The Guardian 'EasyJet peak bookings return to pre-Covid levels as it cuts losses'