Airfare prices in Canada jumped 11.6 per cent year over year in May, according to Statistics Canada.
Canadian Press says tickets are now above pre-pandemic levels. CP quotes Montreal-based Hopper Inc. as saying that prices are up 15 per cent from 2019 to $960 on average for international flights from Canada, with no sign of a dip in the coming months.
It’s no surprise that prices have gone up, given that fuel prices have escalated and demand has exploded.
Experts say booking an early morning or late-night flight is one way to save money. Mid-week flights (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) often are cheaper than those near the weekend, and Saturdays are usually less expensive than Fridays or Sundays.
One way to save money on air fares is to avoid popular booking times, such as the August long weekend or Labour Day. Europe prices are high right now, but it’s winter in Australia so you’re likely to find better prices now than later this year. Travelling off-season is usually a great way to save money.
I mentioned Australia in our summer, but the same goes for New Zealand and the southern hemisphere in general. Europe can be crazy in summer, but fall is lovely in places like Ireland, where your main goal likely isn’t to work on your tan.
Hawai’i can be very expensive in summer, when kids are out of school, but September often sees great air prices and cheaper hotels and rental cars. And we all know how expensive rental cars can be given world-wide inflation.
