With demand for flights to sunshine destinations strong, and supply so constrained, air fares are soaring to unprecedented levels.
British Airways has one economy class seat left for this afternoon’s flight from London Gatwick to Faro on the Portuguese Algarve for £705 one way. The 1,048-mile flight is operated by Iberia Express of Spain, which BA has brought in to cover some of its schedule.
By late August the same trip is on sale for £74; although baggage is extra, British Airways has a hand luggage allowance of 46kg.
From easyJet’s main base at Gatwick to Faro, one seat remains on the Saturday evening flight at £442. These prices do not include baggage or an assigned seat. A large cabin bag plus a 15kg checked in case costs an additional £48 – taking the total to £490.
The earliest availability on Ryanair from London Stansted to Faro is the Sunday evening flight at £282. An assigned seat, cabin bag and 20kg checked case adds £50.
The final ticket for today’s 8am easyJet flight from London Gatwick to Malaga sold at £442. Not a single seat remains on any of the following 35 easyJet flights, carrying more than 6,000 people, until 7.05pm on Wednesday night, when two are available at £284.
On easyJet from Gatwick to Amsterdam, three seats remain on a Monday afternoon flight at £384.
Even more extreme pricing is on British Airways from both Heathrow and Gatwick to Berlin. On Friday only business class is available to the German capital, priced at £914 from Gatwick and £918 from Heathrow. The distance is less than 600 miles.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: “It’s not a bargain summer for anyone, but plenty of us want to get away after prolonged lockdowns.
“Airlines are charging more due to sheer consumer demand to get on a flight, almost at any cost it seems, as well as because of high fuel and other costs.
“I would bet that prices will fall from the end of August, when many airline sales kick in, and when demand to fly will drop away after the peak summer period.
“My top tip is not to book any summer 2023 flights yet. Prices will be lower this autumn, when consumers face energy bill shocks and airlines need to create demand through lower fares.”
Fares from Manchester to the Mediterranean are not so excessive: on Friday, Manchester-Alicante flights on Jet2 and Ryanair are generally between £250 and £300 one-way, though the 8.15pm departure – suiting families whose schools break up that day – is selling for £356.
Availability is scarce on a wide range of routes. To Athens, Ryanair has no seats for a week for its daily flights from Stansted to the Greek capital.
Long-haul routes are also heavily subscribed. British Airways has no economy seats on its daily flights from Heathrow to San Francisco until Tuesday, when three are available at £2,053 one way.
The most extreme fare found by The Independent is £19,372 for a one-way economy class ticket from London Heathrow to Sydney, sold by the Dutch online travel agent Budgetair.co.uk.
The price for the British Airways/Air Canada combination includes one piece of checked baggage – but applies only for payment by Visa credit card. Other forms of payment cost £99 more.
