$1.8k spike: International airfares that have soared post-pandemic

Shock new data has shown just how much international travel prices have soared since the pandemic.

Shock new data has shown just how much some travel prices have soared since the pandemic.

Figures provided to The Courier-Mail from leading travel site Webjet on some of Brisbane’s most popular aviation routes show increases of more than $1000 from 2019 to this year.

Queensland hotel prices have also soared, with figures from data and analytics specialists STR showing a 39 per cent increase in room rates from 2019 to early 2020 to this year, far more than the southern states of NSW and Victoria.

Daniel Gschwind, a professor of practice at the Griffith University Institute of Tourism, described the soaring prices as “dramatic” as factors such as limited supply, surging fuel prices and the rising cost of living play havoc with the travel sector.

The average booking price for return flights from Brisbane to London rose from $2050 in 2019 to $3056 this year – an increase of more than $1000 or 50 per cent, says Webjet. Picture: iStock

Data from Webjet suggests demand on many international routes out of Brisbane is still well short of 2019 levels, but the law of supply and demand was not necessarily ringing true.

“The intersection of supply and demand has been pushed down, so that equilibrium is not where it was,” Mr Gschwind said.

“Aviation is a very complicated machine and we are still seeing airlines struggling to put enough planes in the air.

“It (the airfare price increases) are very dramatic and it’s the talk of the town in the tourism sector.”

According to Webjet, the average booking price for return flights from Brisbane to London rose from $2050 in 2019 to $3056 this year – an increase of more than $1000 or 50 per cent.

Daniel Gschwind, a professor of practice at the Griffith University Institute of Tourism. Picture: David Kelly

Flights to LA rose from an average of $1544 to $2200, while New York increased from $1854 to more than $3000.

Brisbane-Singapore flights increased by about $500, while flights to Bali (up $200) and Japan (up $400) had smaller increases, albeit for shorter journeys.

Demand, usually a strong barometer for prices, was significantly lower in 2023 than 2019 for most international routes, though it was substantially higher than at the same time last year.

That is consistent with data from Tourism and Events Queensland and Brisbane Airport that shows international travel numbers are still yet to return to pre-Covid levels.

However, Mr Gschwind said high prices were not deterring those who yearned to travel.

“During the lockdowns and border closures, we saw a huge build of demand and now there are some people who are just desperate to go, so they go,” he said.

“If there wasn’t this pent-up demand, they wouldn’t pay.”

Jayvier and Michelle Keioskie about to fly from Brisbane International Airport to Japan to celebrate Jayvier's 14th birthday in April. Picture: Richard Walker

The Webjet data did not look at domestic airfares, which have also been affected by rising fuel prices and cost-of-living pressures, though without the explosion of demand coming out of the pandemic as Queenslanders were still relatively free to travel domestically during 2020 and 2021.

Hotel room prices, in terms of average daily rates, also surged 39.4 per cent in Queensland over the past three years, with Brisbane recording a 40.3 per cent increase, the Gold Coast 39.6 per cent and Cairns a whopping 47.8 per cent.

In comparison, price hikes for room rates in Sydney (up 17.8 per cent) and Melbourne (up 19.4 per cent) were significantly lower.

The STR data also showed that before the post-Covid-19 boom, average room prices in Queensland had remained relatively stable for years, with an increase of only 3.5 per cent from 2015-19.

Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner said this week the availability of seats into Europe and the Middle East was 70-75 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

He said federal Transport Minister Catherine King’s approval of 21 weekly flights between Turkey and Australia by Turkish Airlines, eventually rising to 35, would drive down fares into Europe.

Originally published as $1.8k spike: International airfares that have soared post-pandemic