'Nowhere To Go But Up,' Jet Fuel Prices Will Likely Cause Airlines To Raise Prices
BOSTON (CBS) - Travelers, you've been warned: air fare prices are expected to rise.
"There's a really tight relationship between jet fuel prices and oil prices," Questrom School of Business at Boston University Economist Jay Zagrosky said. "I'm expecting to see airline prices start rising very soon just like I'm seeing prices at the pump rise."
Airline prices have already risen in 2022, as demand surges following a travel lull during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists have predicted airline prices to rise by seven percent each month this year.
That rise will likely be accelerated thanks to drastically rising gas prices right now, an indirect result of the current warfare in Ukraine.
The cost of jet fuel is going up, and as such, airlines will likely pass the expense down to their customers soon enough.
Some airlines like Allegiant and Alaska, which don't have a big foothold in Boston, have already announced they'll cut back on flights as a result of the gas prices.
"I always use the analogy of if I was a stockbroker, would I buy now or would I wait?" said Michael Byrne, a travel agent in Framingham. "It's a 'lock it in now' scenario. Buy your stock now and lock it in and ride the wave."
The translation: if you have flights to book, book them now.
"Air fare has nowhere to go but up," CBS News travel expert Peter Greenerg explained.
