An employee refuels a United Airlines plane at Salt Lake City International Airport in April 2026. The price of jet fuel, one of airlines’ biggest expenses, is near a record high in the United States.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
BALTIMORE — Herb and Latasha Williams flew from Dallas to Baltimore/Washington International Airport this week for a quick vacation to celebrate her birthday.
But their plane tickets cost hundreds of dollars more than expected. And Latasha Williams is now wondering if they can afford to travel for the holidays.
“I kind of wanted to go somewhere warm. Florida, I think,” she said.
Then she looked at airfares.
“Maybe next year. Maybe,” she said with a laugh. “Fingers crossed.”
Those planning to fly this holiday season should be prepared to pay more than last year. Experts expect airfares this holiday season to be the highest in years as airlines scramble to cover the rising cost of jet fuel, one of their biggest expenses.
The average price of jet fuel in the United States exceeded $4.75 per gallon this week, according to to the tracking company Argus. That’s close to an all-time high, and almost double what it was a year ago.
“Airfares are currently at what we consider a 10-year high due to the high cost of jet fuel,” said Hayley Berg, chief economist at Hopper, a travel technology company. “Airlines must pass on these extremely high jet fuel prices in the form of higher fares to consumers.”
Airfares for Thanksgiving are up about 30% from last year, according to Berg. Tickets for the Christmas holidays are up more than 20%.
But so far, Berg said, travelers appear willing to pay up, at least for their big vacation trips.
“We’re at a time of year when travel is really tough. Even with higher prices, travelers are unlikely to make major changes to their traditional vacation home for vacation travel,” Berg said in an interview with NPR.
U.S. airlines say demand remains stable even though fares have increased. In an earnings conference call this month, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said consumers had put up “limited resistance” and still viewed airfare as “reasonably affordable” even after fare increases.
“I think it’s a very good sign for the future,” Bastian said.
Some in the industry believe prices will be even higher next year.
“Airfares could increase next year in Europe. I think by 10, 15, maybe 20 percent,” Michael O’Leary, CEO of European low-cost airline Ryanair, said in Belgium this week. “I would say you are going to see the biggest increase in airfares in European history over the next 12 months.”
The situation might be slightly better in the United States, which has more oil production and refining capacity than Europe. Yet rising fuel costs are also hurting U.S. carriers.
“The airlines themselves bear most of these costs,” Chris Sununu, director of Airlines For America, a trade group representing major airlines, said in a statement. interview this week with CNBC. “And some of it unfortunately has to be passed on to the customer and so we see an increase of 20 to 30 percent as the holidays approach.”
Consumers are shopping around more for better deals, Berg said, and booking tickets earlier to try to secure reasonable prices.
“Usually I’m shouting from the rooftops in mid-October: ‘Book your vacation trip by the end of this month, prices won’t go down from here,'” Berg said. “But we have already seen an increase in the number of customers booking holiday travel in September.”
At the Baltimore airport, some travelers say they won’t be able to fly for the holidays this year.
“I’m going to have to drive,” said Rachel Stern of Frederick, Maryland. “I’m from Chicago, so I’ll drive. For me and my kids, it’s just too hard to get tickets.”
But others said they were resigned to paying more for their vacation tickets. Mary Haller of Bethany Beach, Delaware is planning a trip to Europe.
“I literally looked at economy class tickets two weeks ago and they went up,” Haler said. “It was big and I kind of got shell shock.”
Still, Haller said she had no choice but to buy the tickets anyway.
“I feel bad for the people who can’t afford the extra money,” she said.
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