U.S. airfares are lower than before the pandemic. What about in Canada?
CTV
U.S. airfares in January reached a 15-year low – excluding peak pandemic fares – but while our two countries have a lot in common, experts say Canadian travellers shouldn't expect the same deep discounts here.
U.S. airfares in January reached a 15-year low — excluding peak pandemic fares — but while our two countries have a lot in common, experts say Canadian travellers shouldn't expect the same deep discounts here.
Despite the cost of living in North America creeping upward in most other respects, airfares in the United States were down 6.4 per cent in January compared to the same month in 2023.
Not only were ticket prices down year-over-year, they were actually three per cent lower than pre-pandemic airfares in January 2020, and down 15 per cent compared to a decade ago, according to consumer price index data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published in February. In fact, prices in January were the lowest they've been in the U.S. in 15 years, excluding during the peak pandemic years, when air travel slowed to a trickle.
In Canada, airfares fell 14 per cent in January compared to the same month in 2023, and 23.7 per cent compared to December 2023, but still sat at 10 per cent above pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to Statistics Canada.
John Gradek, head of the aviation management program at McGill University, said January's drop coincides with seasonal travel patterns – January typically represents a slump for the industry as holiday travel demand gives way to post-holiday homebody habits. Not only is it likely to be temporary, but he said it caps off a year of low airfares and is probably the last time we'll see prices drop in Canada for awhile.
"Going forward, when we look at the consumer price index for March, April and May, the air transportation component of the index, will show a reversing trend and we'll see fares go back up again," Gradek told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview on Friday.
"You're seeing, even today, significant increase in the price levels across Canada."
