Airfares fall to record low in U.S. during pandemic year

Average sinks to $292, the lowest since tracking started in 1995

Average airfares hit a 25-year low in 2020 as the number of travelers on U.S. airlines dropped dramatically because of the pandemic, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics said the average domestic airfare last year was $292, making it the lowest inflation-adjusted fare since the agency started collecting those records in 1995.

That’s down significantly from the average domestic fare of $359 in 2019, which was also the previous inflation-adjusted low.

But even not adjusted for inflation, last year’s average air fare of $292 was on par with 1995 and slightly above the average of $277 in 1996.

Nationally, fares declined significantly to $245 in the third quarter of 2020, before recovering to $261 in the fourth quarter. That fourth quarter average fare was still down 28% from $357 a year earlier.

The sharp drop came as the number of passengers traveling on U.S. airlines declined 60%.

In Atlanta, the average air fare was $250 in the third quarter of 2020 and $260 in the fourth quarter.

The DOT’s average fares are based on round-trip itineraries, but the data also include one-way

tickets if no return fare is purchased.

This year, fares have fluctuated. Travel app Hopper said its data indicates domestic fares will rise in early May, increasing 12 percent leading into the busy summer travel period. For this summer, Hopper forecasts domestic fares likely will be 10-20 percent lower than summer 2019, but higher than summer 2020 when few people took to the skies.