Good news for Summer Travelers as USA airfares have dropped for the first time since 2004 making the average ticket for a domestic round trip ticket around $340, which is 2% less than last year. The drop is due in part to the airlines scheduling more seats this summer than in 2006 without the necessary customer demand to fill those seats. An example of these low fares can be seen on typical round trip between Washington D.C. and Orlando, Fl. where the regular wound trip ticket is as low as $138, down from $178.

Another reason for the decrease has been the growth of low-fare carriers that have curbed the industry’s ability to raise fares despite the traditional airlines reducing or just maintaining the number of available seats on their domestic routes. However, analyst Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities states that domestic travelers should by their tickets soon as prices may rebound next month as airlines have been holding some seats off the market to sell at higher prices at the last minute.

This doesn’t stop AAA from recommending that flying within the continguous USA this summer is the only way to go considering the near-record-high cost of gasoline and even Rick Seaney, of FareCompare.com agrees that certain flights are indeed a good bargain but says not to look for the same bargains on coast-to-coast tickets that are tracking higher. Betsy Sell with  AAA also noted that international fares are costing on average 10%more compared to last year and stated, “It is difficult to find seats at a bargain; they’re just not out there for international flights.”

Tags: airfares, traveling, air travel, travel deals, international flights, domestic flights