Travel prices for the summer: where holidays are most expensive

Summer vacation is almost unlimited again – like before Corona. The prices have risen massively in some cases. But there are still affordable trips – if vacationers pay attention to a few things.

If you are currently looking for a flight to one of the popular travel destinations in southern Europe for the summer months, you may get a shock. The price comparison portal Idealo has for that ARD business magazine Plusminus examined prices to more than 70 different destinations. Particularly drastic: A summer flight to Alicante in May cost a good 71 percent more than three years ago, to Mallorca it was 61 percent more expensive, Faro in the Portuguese Algarve: plus 41 percent.

The association of the German aviation industry justifies the price increases with increased kerosene prices. ARD aviation expert Michael Immel considers this to be only partially plausible. The share of fuel in the flight costs is at the airlines at 30 to 40 percent. Lufthansa, parent company of Eurowings and Eurowings Discover, explains to investors in a publication that the group was able to secure low kerosene prices in the long term through so-called “hedging” and thus cushion around half of the price increase. In fact, according to Michael Immel, the airlines have made losses in recent years and are now trying to cash in on increasing demand.

Competition matters

Another indication of this: According to Idealo, it is primarily the “hot water destinations” that are currently in high demand, where flight prices are skyrocketing. At the same time, however, there are also connections that have become cheaper despite higher kerosene prices: destinations for classic city trips or long-distance routes such as the Dominican Republic or the USA. Those who want to fly to Mexico City in the summer paid 27 percent less in May than three years ago.

According to aviation expert Immel, something like this shows that competition plays an important role. “Classic hot water destinations like Mallorca used to be offered by Air Berlin, and most recently by Ryanair. Air Berlin no longer exists, Ryanair no longer flies from Frankfurt, prices are going through the roof.”

Special features of package tours

Package travel prices are much more difficult to compare than airfares alone. The offer is also too diverse in terms of food and room category. The travel portal Holidaycheck has for Plus minus evaluated its extensive data – with the result that prices rose significantly here as well. But when it comes to the goals, a completely different picture emerges.

Anyone who has booked a summer holiday to Gran Canaria since the beginning of the year paid 24 percent more for the comparable service than three years ago. For the Egyptian Safaga or Hurghada and the Greek Kos, 19 percent more was demanded, for Tenerife still 18 percent. Package tours to Mallorca, where air fares alone have risen massively, were hardly more expensive with a price increase of only five percent.

Going to the travel agency can be worthwhile

According to Holidaycheck, a completely different effect of flight prices can be seen here. Because the number of flight connections to Mallorca reached the pre-crisis level much faster than for other destinations. In addition, for the Canary Islands, for example, there are many airports with a smaller catchment area and correspondingly fewer flights. The package tour operators were able to secure inexpensive flights to destinations such as Mallorca, which are flown to in large numbers, and are now able to pass this price advantage on to customers. In places where there is high demand and these “contingents” have now been exhausted, the prices for package tours also rise. Where there are still cheap flights available, customers can also find cheap package deals.

Even with pure flight bookings, the contingents of the tour operators can help individual travelers to get cheaper tickets. By visiting a travel agency: Because they can also sell contingent flights from the tour operator individually – without a hotel. Such flights may not be offered on the Internet. Travel agencies can also sell them individually. For travel destinations where the demand for package tours did not quite meet the expectations of the tour operator, this can be significantly cheaper than buying the flight – also online – from the respective airline.