{"id":10893,"date":"2026-09-14T10:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T14:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=10893"},"modified":"2026-09-14T10:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T14:31:14","slug":"fall-travel-looks-more-expensive-this-year-but-there-are-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=10893","title":{"rendered":"Fall travel looks more expensive this year. But there are deals."},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bFor vacationers who routinely wait to travel between Labor Day and mid-November to take advantage of so-called shoulder season deals, this year may be a letdown.<\/p>\n

While airfares typically drop by up to 20% after summer and leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, this year’s average fall fares are mostly higher.<\/p>\n

Fall prices in the top 10 US destinations are averaging 20% higher for lodging and 2% higher for flights compared to summer, according to Expedia.<\/p>\n

The average domestic airfare is $326 \u2014 up 39% compared to last year, according to Hopper Technology Solutions. Airfare for international trips has risen by double digits this fall over last year, with fares to Europe up over 33%.<\/p>\n

“Fall has historically been a sweet spot for travelers seeking lower airfares after the peak summer season, but that may be changing,” Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper, told Yahoo Finance.\u00a0 “For the first time in years, fall fares are now in line with summer prices. In many cases, there are higher airfares and fewer hotel deals.”<\/p>\n

As jet fuel prices surged this spring after the war in Iran started, airlines hiked up airfares and fees. Now fuel costs are lower, but that doesn’t mean airfares will follow suit soon.<\/p>\n

“I suspect that fares will remain where they are for the rest of the year and into the early part of next year,” said John Grant, an analyst at aviation data provider OAG. “Oil remains relatively high, operating costs are not falling, and airlines are looking to make profits. So that means high fares.”<\/p>\n

The reality is that the discount for traveling during the fall shoulder season has been shrinking over the last four years, according to Berg.<\/p>\n

In addition to the cost of fuel, remote work flexibility has had “an outsized impact” on the travel industry, she said.<\/p>\n

“Travelers can now fly or stay on less expensive days of the week, or extend a work trip into a leisure stay over a weekend,” she said. “With more flexibility on vacation dates, travelers shift trips to shoulder season months. This has boosted demand during traditionally quiet periods of the year, pushing prices up.”<\/p>\n