Up and down: Bing issues summer travel price predictions
Air travel will go up; hotel costs down. That’s the prediction from Bing Travel for summer travel.
Travelers can expect to pay more than 20 percent more for air fares this summer, according to Bing.
Air fares for summer travel to US destinations will average about USD$303 per ticket, which is 22 percent more than the fares last summer and 4 percent higher than 2008 fares.
Traveling to Europe will be even more expensive: Average destination fares are $1,271 per ticket, up 29 percent from last year.
Bing Travel experts offered a few travel hints, such as waiting for cheaper fares later in the summer; packing light to avoid fees such as baggage fees; and flying to less popular airports in Europe such as Madrid instead of Paris or Rome.
Bing suggests looking for cheaper fares in late summer.
“Domestic and international fares start to dip lower for travel in September,” the site says.
The company also urges travelers to buy now if they see good fares.
“The likelihood of fares continuing to increase as the summer season nears far outweighs the likelihood of fares dropping significantly,” the site says. They urge travelers with specific dates for travel to buy early.
“Forget about the low fares that were around last year — they’re gone,” said Joel Grus, Bing Travel “fareologist.”
Hotel rates continue to fall, with Bing estimating that premium hotel rates in US destinations are down 10 percent from last summer, averaging USD$166 per night.
Although airfare is much higher compared with last summer, savvy travelers can lower their total trip costs by choosing destinations, such as Las Vegas, San Francisco, Honolulu and San Diego, where domestic hotel rates have dropped.
Premium hotels in Las Vegas are down 18 percent, and rates in Seattle and Orlando are down as much as 13 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Honolulu, San Francisco and San Diego also have deeply discounted hotel rates throughout the summer, according to Bing.
The company describes itself as “designed to help people overcome search overload and make faster, more informed decisions when searching online.” Bing combines search flights from more than 100 airline and travel agency websites.
By David Wilkening
David
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