Welcome news for would-be travellers with the price of international airfares finally coming down.
New data from Flight Centre Corporate shows prices decreased almost 13 per cent in the second half of 2023.
Compared with 2022, economy passengers saved an average of $280 per ticket between July and December last year. Business and first-class fares also dropped by about eight per cent.
“We’ve spent some time now assuring our corporate travellers that as airlines continue to recover, as capacity and competition comes back to the network, our travellers would start to see the cost of travel drop,” said Melissa Elf, Global Chief Operating Officer for Flight Centre Corporate.
“We’re starting to see the signs of exactly that – and although we’ve still got some way to go yet in terms of getting back to full capacity, particularly internationally, there’s no doubt we’re beginning to feel the positive effects.”
Flights to Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United States showed some of the biggest price falls.
“Our data shows that Southeast Asia is back to 107 per cent capacity on pre-2019 levels, and it’s clear that more flights and more competition has led to the significant drop in airfares that we’re seeing into countries like Hong Kong and Singapore,” added Ms Elf.
Flight Centre Corporate anticipates pre-2019 capacity to return domestically next month, while international capacity should reach pre-pandemic levels by mid-2024.
