Top 5 Factors that Influence Ticket Prices: Why Flights are so Expensive in 2025

Amy Lancelotte

By:  Amy Lancelotte

9 minutes read

Last Updated:  August 7, 2025

Reviewed by:  Joanna Teljeur

For most of us, plane tickets tend to be expensive even on a good day. But if they seem to be particularly pricey right now, it might help to know that you aren’t imagining things.

Air fare has been increasing steadily over the past few years. Reuters reported that, in Europe, ticket prices had risen 6% year-on-year in 2024, according to travel research group, ForwardKeys. Meanwhile, Hopper found that U.S. domestic fare prices were up 12% in January 2025 compared to the same month in 2024. But what’s causing this to happen?

Read on to learn what’s causing ticket prices to rise, and how you can book the cheapest flight possible. 

What Causes Fare Prices to Rise

Airlines use a complex system to manage their prices in real-time. Rather than trying to explain the intricate algorithms at work within the system, let’s take a look at the top reasons flights are so expensive right now. Demand is key, but it’s not the only thing that affects the price of the flight for your dream vacation. Here are the top factors that influence ticket prices:

1. Travel Demand

Lots of things can increase travel demand to specific destinations at certain times of the year. Holidays like Spring Break, Easter, and Christmas afford travellers time off work, and with more people looking to book flights, airline prices rise.

Special events like sporting tournaments, festivals, conventions, and basically any large gathering of people in one place make demand skyrocket. That’s why your flight to the Superbowl is so expensive. 

In 2024, for example, British fans scrambled to book tickets to Berlin for the Euro 2024 final. According to The Sun, easyJet seats from Gatwick to Berlin were priced at an incredible £918!

There is less demand for flights that leave super early or land super late, so better deals can often be found on these. Plus, with flights scheduled so tightly, there’s a higher chance that travellers will encounter a delay. If your flight is delayed, use a compensation calculator to see if you’re eligible.

If you do experience a flight delay, we can help you check your eligibility to get compensation of up to €600.Check Your Flight

2. Aircraft Delivery Delays

Airlines around the world are facing a serious aircraft shortage because Boeing and Airbus are struggling to deliver new planes on schedule. This makes the ticket demand even worse because airlines want to offer more seats, but have to wait a very long time to get more and bigger aircraft. 

When airlines can’t grow their fleets, there is no way for them to add enough seats to meet growing demand. So, summer travel peaks or major sports tournaments push demand past capacity. Combined with sophisticated dynamic pricing, the shortage of aircraft allows carriers to charge more per seat. Even budget airlines, who rely on high seat turnover, have had to wet‑lease temporary aircraft or delay expansion plans, driving up operational costs and passenger prices.

But it isn’t just about seating capacity. Because of the slow delivery of new planes, airlines have no choice but to keep older, less fuel‑efficient planes in service longer. According to Oliver Wyman’s analysis published by Forbes, the global average fleet age increased by nearly one full year in 2024, rising from approximately 12.5 years in 2023 to about 13.4 years in 2024 

Operating older jets means higher maintenance and fuel costs per seat. Since these expenses inevitably filter down to passengers, travellers are seeing higher fares as airlines work to maintain profitability with limited capacity.

3. Salary Inflation and Staffing Pressure

In 2024, average airline industry salaries increased approximately 8% year-on-year, making it the fourth straight year of double-digit growth, according to IATA. They also reported that labour costs would reach $253 billion USD in 2025, marking a 7.6 % increase compared to 2024.

Pilot Shortages and Ground-Crew Gaps

Since the pandemic, airlines have struggled with a shortage of pilots, mechanics, and ground handlers. Plus, the global workforce is aging, and the skilled workers that left the industry aren't being replaced quickly enough. As a result, airlines have to deal with rising training costs, as well as staffing shortages, which increases the reliance on expensive contingency crews.

Operational disruptions like strikes and aircraft groundings have added one-off costs across airlines. For example, Lufthansa spent over €700 million on pilot-related strike settlements and suffered from operational stoppages in early 2024.

4. The Cost of Jet Fuel

Fuel typically accounts for 20–30% of an airline’s total operating costs, making it one of the most expensive items for carriers around the world. In fact, IATA says that fuel represented around 28% of global airline operating costs in 2023. This is expected to remain in the 26–30% range through 2025.

Then there are the new environmental regulations like the ReFuelEU regulation. This requires airlines in Europe and the UK to use at least 2% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) starting in 2025, with the mandate rising to 6% by 2030.

These new rules, along with the associated compliance fees, could add approximately $1.3 billion in surcharges for European airlines in 2025, according to IATA. In other words, all these extra costs mean higher ticket prices for passengers.

5. Dynamic Pricing and “Junk” Fees

Airlines are now using AI to adjust airfares in real time to increase their profits. The Points Guy reported how Delta plans to have its AI pricing system manage up to 20% of domestic fares by late 2025, compared to just 3% now. What’s particularly interesting (and scary) is that this technology is being used to capture your buying history and use it to estimate how willing you are to pay for a flight.

Also, “junk fees” . . . those extra charges for seat selection, checked bags, overhead baggage, food, and more, have played a significant role in increasing airfare as well as airline revenue. Industry analysis shows junk fee revenues have already risen by about 6.7% in 2025 to reach a total of $144 billion globally, despite slower ticket yield growth.

How to Find Affordable Air Fare

Generally speaking, the first seats on each flight are typically sold at a low price, often at a loss. The ticket prices steadily increase as the plane fills up, with the highest prices for the last seats. As a result, to avoid asking that age-old question of why your flight tickets are so expensive, book in advance.

One to three months ahead of time is recommended, and you’ll see the best prices anywhere from 21 to 100 days before the departure day, depending on your destination.

Weekdays vs. Weekends

Since people book flights for both business and leisure, during the week, airlines assume that more business travellers will be looking for flights. Since they aren’t as concerned about cost, prices tend to be higher. So, your best bet to book cheap flight tickets is on the weekend. Sunday evenings are optimal.

Weekends are better because the airline’s algorithms operate on the assumption that most families and other leisure travellers are doing other things at this time, and business travel bookings can always wait until Monday.

Understanding Fluctuating Prices

It’s fairly obvious that the farther you go, the higher the price of your ticket. And that’s where the price fluctuations have hit the hardest. While international airfares remain high, U.S. domestic flights are showing a welcome bit of relief.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, inflation-adjusted domestic airfares in early 2025 are about 3–5% lower than in 2022.

Should You Wait for a Price Drop?

That depends. How badly do you need the flight? If you aren’t flexible on dates or destinations, and you find the perfect flight for you, booking is recommended. Price drops are never guaranteed. Search within the recommended window of 21 to 100 days for your destination, and if it’s right, go for it.

How to Get the Best Flight Deals

Tools like Google Flights and Skyscanner are great for showing you every available option and eventuality and the associated costs. Then, you can act accordingly by flying from a cheaper airport, adjusting your travel dates, or checking back later if the prices are still unaffordable. Additionally, consider being flexible with your destination. Especially in Europe, fly to a cheaper nearby airport and hop on a bus or a train to keep costs down.

Gone are the days of booking last-minute flights for a steal, but all is not lost. Now, with budget airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, and Vueling, you don’t always have to go with expensive national airlines like British Airways.

Things to Consider When Booking a Flight

• How far out are your desired travel dates? Use our chart to know exactly when to book.
• Book on the weekend instead of a weekday.
• Be flexible on your travel dates if you can.
• Be flexible about your destination.
• Travel during the off-season.

And Things to Avoid

• Avoid travelling during special events, festivals, etc., unless of course, you’re attending the event.
• Weekend departure dates can be more expensive, so avoid those days. But the same doesn’t seem to apply to your return flight, so returning on a Saturday is unlikely to cost you more.
• Don’t automatically select the cheapest fare. Check the details, as it may not include things like seat selection and carry-on or checked luggage. It could actually end up being more expensive.
• Don’t be set on a flight time. Generally, 5 am flights and the redeye are the cheapest because no one wants to get up that early or leave so late.

Source: cheapair.com

Average Fare Based on Departure Day

Try to plan your flight departure for a Tuesday or Wednesday. Weekends are the most expensive days to fly, and this is because travelling on these days doesn’t burn as many vacation days. If you have time off to spare or don’t work a conventional work week, use this to your advantage.

Source: businesstravelnewseurope.com

As you can see, average ticket prices are definitely higher than 2018 and 2019 levels, but the increase percentages are much smaller than from 2021 to 2022. 2023 prices are up 8.4% over 2022, and in 2024, the increase is forecasted to be less than 2%.

Summary

The bottom line with finding the cheapest flights is to be flexible. Check fares often, fly to a different airport (or even a different city), and adjust the days of the week you fly and the time of your flight. Play around with options to combat the fact that flight ticket prices are so high currently.

With these tips and AirAdvisor by your side, if you encounter a disruption, we can help you with flight delay compensation, as well as flight cancellation compensation and refunds, so you’re sure to have a trip to remember. When you have a great vacation, wondering why flights are so expensive doesn’t seem to matter nearly as much!

Author:

Amy Lancelotte

Job/Position: Senior Writer & Content Strategist

Amy Lancelotte is a Senior Content Writer and editorial contributor at AirAdvisor with over seven years of experience producing research-based articles for international audiences. Her work focuses on travel, aviation, and air passenger rights, with an emphasis on factual accuracy, verified data, and clear, reader-first explanations.

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