Are you planning international travel next year? How much airfares may rise

Air travel costs will increase significantly next year all over the world, a report said. The Airfares will increase by as much as 12 per cent on Europe-Asia routes and 10 per cent for America-Asia flights, a report by American Express Global Business Travel said.

The air travel costs have already been higher than the pre-pandemic levels all over the world which were further aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as flights between Europe and Asia rerouted to avoid Russian airspace, the report said. The Russian airspace remains off-limits for non-Russia airlines since February this year.

The report also said that one of the biggest airfare rises will be for business-class tickets within Australia, which are forecast to rise by about 19 per cent. Economy class airfares on the Europe-Asia route will increase more than business class, the forecast suggested saying that economy fares will increase by 12 percent on the Europe-Asia route while business class fares will rise by 7.6 percent on average.

Compared with 2019, economy-class airfares from Asia to North America will be nearly 23 per cent higher and business will be about 15 per cent more expensive, the report added.

The global airfare rise is driven by Inflation, rising fuel costs and capacity constraints of airlines, the report said.