A raft of new environmental measures are on the horizon that threaten to render the days of cheap flights history
“Making flying as affordable as a pair of jeans – £29 one way.” The fare for EasyJet’s first flights from Luton to Edinburgh and Glasgow, celebrated in its inaugural advertisement campaign, seems rather pricey by modern standards. You can get a ticket on that route on EasyJet for less than £29 today and fares on some other low-cost carriers can be under a tenner. But the days when the flight was cheaper than the cab to the airport are coming to an end.
Ticket prices are soaring because travel has rebounded far faster than airlines have been able to buy or lease new aircraft and hire staff to replace those laid off during lockdowns. “There hasn’t been enough capacity to meet demand. The only way demand has been controlled is through pricing, so you see very high airfares,” says Cameron McDonald, head of research and a transportation analyst at investment firm E&P.
Travel search engine Kayak confirms that flights between the UK and the Continent this summer are one-third more expensive than last year. Tickets for flights to and from the US jumped by up to 50 per cent last year.
But there’s worse to come for holidaymakers, already struggling to cope with the rising cost of everything from food to fuel. Under the EU’s Refuel programme agreed earlier this year, airlines will have to blend two per cent of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into their fuel loads by 2025 and six per cent by 2030. SAF can reduce the total carbon emissions from a flight by about 70 per cent.