Paige Galey | Special to Independent Newsmedia airline tickets soared this holiday season after a year of closings and travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Those traveling to other parts of the country, including Arizona State University students returning home, pay the price. According to the 2021 Holiday Travel Report, the COVID-19 pandemic for NerdWallet caused nearly three in ten Americans to forego vacation travel in 2020. With life slowly returning to normal, Americans are booking flights again for this year’s holiday season. The number of vacationers this year is in close competition with the record vacation travel in 2019. By this year’s Thanksgiving, the Transportation Security Administration expects nearly 1.9 million passers-by daily, which is about 75% of the 2019 Thanksgiving passengers 2.5 Millions of travelers a day. In 2020, TSA passenger numbers prior to Thanksgiving were only about 900,000 travelers per day, according to the Hopper Travel Guide Report 2021. For Thanksgiving, the expected domestic flight ticket for travelers is about $ 300 round-trip, a 23% increase in comparison compared to 2020, when airline tickets averaged around $ 245. In 2019, Thanksgiving plane tickets averaged $ 335, which is 11% higher than this year in 2021, according to the Hopper Travel Guide Report. ASU Communications student Kayla Popkin, who is from New York City, plans to come home for both Thanksgiving and ASU’s winter break. For Thanksgiving travel, Popkin chose to take United Airlines from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which cost their $ 769 round-trip ticket. “This is the most expensive flight home I’ve ever had. Usually it only costs $ 250 to $ 300, “said Popkin. “I’m very excited to go home and see my family for the first time since summer, but it’s crazy that I had to spend nearly $ 800 in five days at home.” Popkin was not alone. Other traveling students reported significantly higher ticket prices. “My Thanksgiving flight from Phoenix to Orange County was $ 430 total, and I had far fewer flight options,” said Ariana Santulis, a nursing student at ASU. “I’m not very happy with the price of my plane tickets as I’m a student trying to save as much money as possible, so I decided to go home for the winter break this year instead of another round-trip ticket $ 400 to Orange County and back. ”Airlines offer ticket prices to maximize their overall sales. While airlines do not publish their pricing algorithms, Simple Flying includes factors such as individual class selection, the length of time the tickets are pre-sold, the demand for ticket sales, the length of the flight, and fuel and oil prices. After the shortage of travelers during COVID-19, airlines are compensating for the overall loss in revenue, which is why some people may see high travel prices during this holiday season, according to Simple Flying. Last month, Southwest Airlines recorded more than 2,000 flight cancellations due to staff shortages. For the upcoming holiday season, Southwest Airlines offered its flight attendants, pilots and other operational employees new incentives to avoid possible flight cancellations in this upcoming high season. Those employees and employees could earn up to 120,000 Rapid Rewards points, which is the equivalent of $ 1,400 in airline tickets, according to CNBC and an internal memo. “The airline is also offering ground operations workers triple pay for Thanksgiving and Christmas work, and double pay for overtime between November 17th and November 30th and December 17th through 3rd half pay,” reported CNBC. According to the Hopper Travel Guide 2021, Phoenix is the third most booked domestic destination for Thanksgiving travel after Orlando, Florida and Atlanta. This holiday season, a round-trip ticket to Phoenix costs an average of $ 294. That price is a 6% decrease from 2019; However, according to the Hopper Travel Guide Report 2021, the price is 36% higher than 2020. “We have seen passenger traffic rise to numbers very close to our record year 2019,” said Gregory E. Roybal, Public Relations Officer at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “Thanksgiving trips are historically our busiest time, so we expect high levels of passenger traffic comparable to pre-pandemic levels.” that others can’t go home for Thanksgiving break because of the price, ”Popkin said. Paige Galey is a student at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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