I don’t know about you, but I am aching to travel. As a travel junkie, my body is ready. I can’t wait to get on a plane again. There’s something about the hum of the engines that lull me to sleep. I feel so alive when I travel. It’s a real addiction. But, with the airlines suffering due to the coronavirus, airlines going bankrupt, and many canceling flights, it brings up the question of planning. Should we start planning travel for the near future?
Let’s ask the experts. I’ve been in touch with CEO, Jesse Neugarten of Dollar Flight Club, a membership-only, flight discount agency.
They’re growing popularity made me wonder if people are still looking for cheap flights. Considering many flight fares are near rock-bottom, it would seem that there’s no better time to start planing. Even I want to start planning my Fourth of July birthday trip, but should I?
Although, if you’re like me and need to see some reliable data, you’re in luck because Jesse Neugarten and his team collected vital data to share with Designing Life.
The Dollar Flight Club has also gathered information from historical events that closely simulate what we’re experiencing right now. In other words, they looked at patterns seen after 9/11 and the 2008 recession, where airlines struggled and, in some cases, halted flights altogether. These historical patterns can help us project what we may see in the months after the coronavirus pandemic is over.
Let’s Look at The Data
Neugarten said to me,
“We currently aggregate flight data for over 1 million people in over 100 countries and work with first and third-party airfare data sources. Our team has a large amount of data to work with, which has given us the ability to conduct these studies.”
In other words, they’ve carefully conducted studies to gather data to help them understand what the future might hold. We’re living in unprecedented times, and it’s nice to have numbers to back you up. And the only way to project what the future holds is to look at hard facts and numbers.
Neugarten and his team asked 20,000 of their 1 million most active members a series of questions. You can see some of them below, but I’ll also link to the Dollar Flight Club study.
If you’re an avid traveler like myself, it almost feels like we all have the same “frequent flyer thoughts.” If Dollar Flight Club were to ask me these same questions, I would be in the majority.
Questions like “Do you feel comfortable traveling internationally within the next six months?” Sixty-one percent said yes they do. I also agree. Within six months, I might be in Paris.
“Where are you traveling for the summer vacation?” One question asked. The number one choice is Hawaii. I, too, am thinking of heading to Hawaii for the fourth of July holiday. Not only is it a holiday but its also my birthday.
The study also concluded that the number one domestic travel destination (once we’re able to travel) is Hawaii, and Paris for international.
What Might Travel Look Like in the Future?
The Dollar Flight Club used millions of data points to understand what future travel might look like, and we all know history repeats itself, even if we forget the history. Humans, we’re predictable.
The three main points they cover are:
“How airlines will adapt, the impact on airfare pricing, and what that means for passengers.”
If you look at the impact 9/11 had on airline prices, you’ll see that there was a drop in prices of about 18%, but two years later, prices increased 25% on average. The great recession saw similar results. Therefore one can conclude that something similar can happen, assuming travel starts at the end of May 2020.
Although, as we’ve already seen in current events, airlines cut flights and routes. Meaning, even though travel might be inexpensive in the near future, it also might be more uncomfortable. It also means that airlines might increase their baggage fees and other charges.
Let me break it down for you:
I love the low fares. I can’t wait to get back on a plane. Ticket prices to South America from LA are in the $300’s round trip. Planning a birthday trip to Hawaii is making me very excited. Even though one can’t be sure, I am hopeful that travel will resume come July.
I am feeling very optimistic about traveling soon. Although there are opposing views and conclusions, we won’t really know until we’re able to travel again.
And you, what are your thoughts on travel at the moment? Am I overly optimistic? Are you hoping to travel in the summer? Domestically or internationally? Let me know in the comments below.