Rising cost of travel

I'm not convinced that higher air fares are here to stay, or not across the board at any rate.

Many airlines are not viable on any rational stand-alone basis, but are supported by governments for prestige or other reasons.

The economies of many countries are partially or almost completely dependent on fly-in tourism and I suspect that governments will go to extraordinary lengths to shore up their tourist sector.

Also, there is now a tremendous incentive for Boeing, Airbus and others to develop more fuel-efficient fleets.

That said, there's no doubt that rising costs are already reshaping air travel. On Air Canada, and I'm sure many others, you now have the privilege of printing your own boarding pass and baggage tickets, packing your own lunch and loading your baggage on the conveyor.

Just send your wife. Its her niece. You can stay home and save up for the huge retroactive carbon footprint tax Gordon Campbell may be getting ready for you.

This is good news. On a recent trip to Europe for over 4 months my wife and I noticed the tremendous amount of tourists at all the tourist sites in parts of Spain, all of Italy and Paris. There is just too many tourists, especially school kids and "teeny boopers" around. If high costs will keep some of them home then I'll be a happy man.

www.itasoftware.com You don’t buy the tickets through them, they just find a fantastic price and then you call a travel agent or directly to the airline to purchase the ticket. You do have to register, but you won't get spam because of it.

They find a reasonable price Ruth. I just checked a Edinburgh to Zurich for example and they were the same price as BMI Baby's own site. I also suspect that they don't cover all the LCCs such as Easyjet etc. I've yet to find one site that covers everything. It would be nice but I don't think it exists.

In any case, the prices are going up. Packerjohn, does have a point though. It may help keep the rif-raff away from some of my favourite places.

Meddler, I suggested that but then my wife mentioned she wanted to tack on a couple of weeks in Switzerland and a few days in Paris. You didn't really think she was going to let me off that easily did you?

Jb, I do hope you realize that there are now many airlines who put prices UP nearer to the departure date, never down. They sell the cheaper seats first. Last minute deals are become harder and harder to find. The early bird gets the worm more often these days.

If you want to keep travelling its something you've just got to build in to your budget. I can't afford to travel every year any more. The trip I'm planning for next year looks like it will cost well over $3000 in airfare alone, and that will be the cheap ticket. The last trip cost either just under or just over $3000. The cost of the airfare is why I prefer to travel for extended periods. Unfortunately at the moment I can't.

I remember going from Minneapolis to Tampa in 1963---it was a big deal for us then. After calling NW Airlines endlessly for the cheapest price, the round trip cost $195 for a jet, and $159 for a jet-prop (we took the cheaper one!) In today's dollars, that would be about $1500 - $2,000 and yet the price now (for a jet!) is below $500. So air travel is really MUCH cheaper than it used to be.

Lor is correct - it is amazing that airfares have remained so low so long. It has also meant that a lower class of traveller has joined the rest. I even see travel shows on OLN where the young traveller appears not to have the money to buy decent clothing, is poorly educated and scarcely has any serious information about what country he/she is in. They focus on food and markets,parties and beaches and know and care little about anything that might exhaust their limited mental capacities. Maybe it is time for airfares to increase.

Yes prices are lower than in the past, in income terms. Back in 1963 people worked for $50 a week. But that will not have any affect on how people react to rising costs psychologically. People have become used to airfares going down, not going up. You can't apply logic to an emotional issue.