It’s been a YEAR for the travel industry. When theme parks and other business closed during in the midst of the pandemic, airports experienced a major decrease in passengers and travel abilities.

During that period of time, prices of flights dropped considerably to low fares that were almost hard to believe. But, since then, things have been looking up as more crowds make their way to the airport and additional flights continue to open up. And, that means the prices have increased along with them!

Gone are the days of consistent low air fare, according to CNBC. Now that the vaccine is becoming more widely available with all adults able to have access by May, more passengers are up to the task of traveling.

As reported by CNBC, Jamie Baker, a JP Morgan airline analyst, stated, “Domestic airfares are rising. While discounts can still be found, they’re no longer falling into consumers’ laps. Discounted fares increasingly require a hunt, and for many consumers that have been locked up for a year, they’re probably not up to the effort.”

Much of this is due to the fact that travel within the United States is more permissible with restrictions placed on international travel currently. According to CNBC, Henry Harteveldt, founder of the travel-industry consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group, said, “U.S. travelers are being diverted in a way into the U.S. and the handful of countries we’re allowed to visit. That is shifting the demand patterns and therefore shifting airfare pricing.”

Even as the airfares may be climbing currently, there are still plenty of way to scope out cheap flights! One of our favorite tools is the Hopper app, available on both iOS and Android devices. Hopper not only predicts future flight prices with 95% recommendation accuracy, but there’s also the option to book hotels, rental cars, and even homes through the app.

But, since we’re talking about flights, Hopper can be a helpful tool when it comes to booking way ahead of time or the last minute. The app will notify you when there’s a deal for flight watches you put in place. As you continue checking back, Hopper will recommend whether you should book the flights now or wait for a lower price through its prediction technology.

You can even freeze the low prices you find for 12 days! If the flight pice increases during that time period, Hopper will cover the changes up to $200. Or, if it actually decreases, you’ll pay the lower price! Tickets we found to Orlando in May even had a freeze price as low as $41.

Hopper has flexible dates and refundable ticket plans so you can avoid various fees that can get tacked on through other booking platforms. You can also rebook tickets without extra costs if your flight is delayed or you miss a connection with the Disruption Rebooking Service on the app. Users can experience various deals throughout the year, like $10 off their first flight bookings!

Hopper allows you to track flights during the year, showing users the price levels on a calendar to help people find the cheapest flights to their destinations of choice. The app will tell you what times of the year are expect to have the lowest and most expensive prices, so you have a better idea of when to travel.

However, there are also plenty of websites that allow you to search for the best prices on flights, like Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline and more. Students can also find cheap fares through sites like Student Universe for their breaks or a trip back home! Google even has the option to look for flights on various carriers with a calendar of the lowest fares available over the coming months.

One of the most important lessons you can learn about searching for cheap airfare is to continuing  checking as much as possible. Fares fluctuate frequently. So, even though flights might be super expensive one day, they could drop the next. You don’t want to wait too long to book, though, as holding off for a prolonged period of time could risk your chances at scoring low fares.

Instead, when you see a fare that is reasonable or cheap, book it ASAP so you don’t miss that opportunity! And, we’ll be sure to update you on everything happening in the travel industry over the coming months. Stay tuned with AllEars for the latest news!

Have you traveled recently? Let us know in the comments below!