Is the age of affordable travel over?
Posted on July 17th, 2008 – 8:00 AMBy Chris Welsch
A national Travelzoo.com survey reports that 80 percent of Americans believe the era of affordable travel is over. The same survey indicated a level of desperation that was a little disturbing. 41 percent of the respondents said they’d give up access to a bathroom on flights to get a 50 percent fare reduction. 28 percent would forgo a seat for the same deal (they’d stand up, in other words).
This comes amidst the latest news of more tack-on fees, advertising on boarding passes, etc. The airlines are failing: No doubt about it. So one way or another, the costs affiliated with flying (and driving) will rise.
Is the era of affordable travel over? Not yet, I would argue. But as a nation we’ve missed opportunities to prepare for this seismic shift in the consumer landscape, even as we watched gas prices tick upward year after year.
I interviewed George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com earlier this week (the full interview will be posted Saturday and in the paper Sunday). He also paints a grim picture of the traveling future, but maintains that cheap deals can still be had if, above all else, travelers embrace flexibility. “I’m not the kind of traveler who says, ‘I’ve got to go to London this particular week.’” Hobica said. “I look at the fares over time and say, ‘That’s the week I’m going to London.’”
For parents trapped by their kids’ schedules, that’s not an easy dictum to embrace. But for travelers with less fixed commitments, it presents a ray of hope, at least in the short term. Rising fuel costs and decreasing capacity are already making those rare cheap fares even harder to find.
In general, I think the way Americans travel will change, and quickly. Maybe the trend of more frequent, shorter vacations will finally abate in favor of a return to the one- or two-week vacation. That compresses the expenses of airfare while expanding the opportunity to spend time with family or really immerse oneself in a travel experience. Even before fuel prices provided a spur, many travelers were already thinking that way by embracing slow travel (a topic I addressed in this story from April).
Do you think the age of affordable travel is over? What changes are you going to make, if any?
19 Responses to "Is the age of affordable travel over?"
If we get McCain elected, the era of cheap travel can continue! I simply can’t wait to fill my expedition up with $1/gallon gas again. May Jesus be praised, and B. Hussein Osama be defeated. McCain ‘08!!!
affordable travel has been over for quite a while. of course, it’s possible to go during off season or slow periods, but…. that isn’t always possible. of course this opinion might imply i’m cheap and that i should really want to pay hundreds to stay in a hotel in NYC, etc… but i’m not there yet. the goodness is that local travel is fairly cheap and it satisfies me. on top of that, people who travel are often cultural snobs who think one place is better than another. and, in general, i don’t need to travel to understand diversity while those “cultural snobs” are in a city for a day and think they know everything.
I really don’t anticipate making any wholesale changes. My girlfriend and I are still planning on flying to San Francisco in August. I guess with the latest round of flight increases, we were lucky to book our March trip to St. Lucia a month ago. That saved us about $330/person by booking earlier.
affordable travel ended a while ago. of course, one can travel during the off season or slow periods, but that isn’t always possible. this opinion might imply that i’m cheap since perhaps i should be open to paying hundreds a night to stay in a hotel in NYC, etc… but i’m not there yet. the good news is that local travel is fairly cheap and it satisfies me. on top of that, people who travel are often cultural snobs who think one place is better than another. and, in general, i don’t need to travel around in order to appreciate diversity while those “cultural snobs” portray themselves as being “more cultured” simply because they stayed in an exotic city for a night.
If McCain is elected what on earth makes people think he can/will be able to lower fuel costs? He’s going to perpetuate the Bush policies which are exactly what has led to the extremely high fuel prices of today. We need to get away from the internal combustion engine in general. Switching from planes to trains will also lower the cost because trains are far less expensive to run than airplanes. The US is so far behind the curve on that it’s scary. Look to what Europe is doing. Heck, even 3rd world African countries are smart enough to ban plastic bags because of the horrible environmental impact they have yet America is still so arrogant that we aren’t willing to be leaders on environmental issues (on a large scale).
I don’t think affordable travel has come to an end, but I think it is too soon to tell for MN travelers. Flexability is the key, and with kids in school, you are locked in to certain days if you don’t want them to miss school. The best deals I saw this past spring break were the last-minute packages offered through MLT vacations, so if you are patient and don’t mind not having anything booked until 2-3 weeks before then you should be able to still get good deals. But now that MLT has lost one of it’s cheapest air providers with Champion gone, it will be interesting to see how good the deals are this upcoming winter/spring break.
Yes, I do believe that for the most part, cheap travel on an airplane is gone. However, there are other modes of transportation, trains for instance. They may make a comeback.
I also think that this country has brought this upon itself by being greedy and using 1/4 of the entire world’s resources for 380 million people. Eventually, what goes around comes around. Learn to take public transportation, ride a bike, get out of your gas hogs and get some exercise. Do not buy a house 50 miles from your employment and then complain because gas prices are so high, no one made you move out there in the woods.
And one more thing, as we now have a “world-economy” and so many of our American jobs have been outsourced to India and other countries because American Corporations want cheap labor, the offshoot of that game plan is that, for example, India’s population is now getting a middle class. Their middle class is buying, buying and buying gas for their cars that they could not afford before.
There is a limited supply of oil that we can get to in the present. Until we make a change and use other sources of fuel, oil prices are not going to go down, and even John McCain cannot fix this one.
Also, another key to affordablity is “thinking outside the box” when it comes to the destination. Want sun, theme parks but don’t want to pay Florida prices–try somewhere different like a place I recommend is San Antonio–it’s a great family destination that is rarely thought about, but it is warm, has Six Flags, Sea World and the downtown/Riverwalk area is great and very family friendly.
Apparently Americans are worked more than most any other Western country, including Japan. Whereas Europeans get 4-6 (guaranteed by law) paid vacation per year, we Americans don’t seem to make time off a cultural/political priority. And we keep voting for politicians — both of the corporate parties — that would distract us from issues that would actually improve our lives. Vacation TIME, paid maternal/paternal leave and a shortened work week being a few of them. I couldn’t care less about Iraq at this point.
Travel in the future may be more costly than it’s been in the recent past, but we will change our ways and adapt. Perhaps we’ll take fewer long vacation trips or buy smaller cars–but that’s not the end of the world. Is it a “grim picture”? If we drive and fly less, we’ll be adding less CO2 to the atmosphere. As for blaming Bush or other politicians for our woes, it’s really ordinary people like us who told the politicians that we wanted cheap gas and big cars. As an old Russian saying tells us, “Don’t blame the mirror if your mug is crooked.”
Heres an easy way for families to cut vacation costs: Leave the kids at home. Send them to a summer camp or something while you go someplace truly magnificent instead of settling on a theme park vacation with hordes of people and lines a mile long. I guarantee you won’t miss the crying, tantrums, and incessant “Are we there yet?”, nor will you miss paying for an extra room for the kiddies, the larger car needed to haul them around, and the price and hassle of all their luggage. $3000 covers flights, hotel, and a car for a week in Hawaii! Best part is there arent many kids because most activities are too dangerous for them!
I like that Russian saying, Oldguy. And you’re probably right in pointing out that what appears grim now may actually turn out to be a good thing, like the old story about the farmer whose horse runs away, and when his neighbor says, “that’s terrible, you won’t be able to bring in th e harvest,” he says “maybe, maybe not.” and a day later the horse comes back with four wild mares in tow. Then the farmer’s son breaks his leg while trying to tame one of the mares. “That’s terrible, you’ll be ruined,” the neighbor says. And the old farmer says “Maybe, maybe not.” And the next day, when the Army comes through conscripting soldiers, his son, with a broken leg, gets a pass. The story goes on forever. So maybe this shock will have consequences with benefits down the road.
Since the Dems have taken over congress, gas has gone up, food prices have increased, energy prices of risen, and my property value has diminished. The age of cheap anything is over. Except cheap politicians.
wouldn’t have anything to do with the decline of the dollar on the world market, would it Ron G? Please tell me, whose economoic policy is in place?
If I were a Republican backer, I don’t think that I’d be taking cheap shots at a Democratic Congress while completely ignorning the fact that your guy has dictated foreign policy from the White House for the past 8 years. But this is much bigger than a partisan divide. This is a SERIOUS and worldwide shift in the demand for energy, and the arrogance of Americans who think that we can simply fix it by electing a new politician are kidding themselves. You have countries like China, much much larger than the U.S., that are suddenly consuming oil where they consumed very little before. We can’t drill our way out of this problem–we need to adapt.
The age of cheap travel is NOT over!! It’s just that we have to pay five times as much for it!!!
I agree, what we need is to adapt, not blame any political party. That’s just too easy to do at this point. Dem’s and Rep’s are constantly spewing propaganda about this, that and the other guy who is wrong about something. Can’t we stop blaming everyone else and just start appreciating that everyone is different AND entitled to thier own beliefs, no more and no less? If we each do what we can to minimize the impact on the environment, conserve rersources, and take family vacations with our family whilst living within our means, the world woudl be a better place, wouldn’t it?
I agree with TriGuy. When people treat every problem as a Democratic/Republican either/or situation, the opportunity to actually change anything for the better evaporates along with the IQs involved.
Affordable for whom? Thanks to the American revloution, you are free to walk to any town you desire, unlike so many other nations. I’d say that’s VERY affordable (and priceless). On the other hand, if you mean whisking 1500 miles in less than 3 hours, then maybe not. Should it have ever been so for everyone, even if your limit of occupational motivation is stocking vending machines? Funny how the same groups grousing about “high airfares” are the same ones grousing about “overseas outsourcing” of jobs. YOU are the ones who don’t want to pay prices consistent with American payscales. All these rants about the airlines are proof.
Kerri Westenberg has globe-trotted for National Geographic and other magazines. Now she zips around the region, on the lookout for travel news you can use.
Elizabeth Larsen lived in Salzburg, Austria, and has traveled throughout Europe and the Americas. She can say "diaper," "bottle" and "crib" in four languages.
Troy Melhus has heli-skied on glaciers, dived alongside Monk seals and raced for 24 hours on a mountain bike. All this, and he rarely spends more than $500 on a trip.