Airline Ticket Prices Continue to Drop; Fare Sales Increase

Thought you were priced out of an airline seat? Think again.

Cheapflights.com recently reported that airfares to top destinations have dropped nearly 20 percent in the past year and new information from Travelocity shows a steady decline in airfare over the past five weeks, with the average ticket price dropping $53.

"As our research shows, airline ticket prices are still down from previous years and Cheapflights.com continues to add more deals and more routes for travelers,” said Cheapflights Chief Travel Office Carl Schwartz. "As we close out 2008 and look ahead to 2009, one thing remains constant: it's becoming increasingly more affordable for consumers to find a good deal on airline tickets."

Need some convincing? Cheapflights recently launched their Travel Price Index which compared fares from the top 30 destinations to the cost of living in that city. The result: you can afford to fly.

Travelocity compared the average outbound and inbound airfares for both five top origin and five top destination areas. Here’s what they found:

Flights from New York and flights from Washington, DC, dropped $69 from October to November. Flights from Los Angeles and flights from Chicago dropped $74 during the same time period.

Despite the rise in fuel prices that plagued the industry earlier in the year, research shows it is possible to find cheap flights to your favorite destinations. Read more about discount airfare trends in Travelnomics.

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