Airfare inflation. 
Welcome to the Know the Difference Minute for Thursday, May 12th. 
It’s been said, “the cure for higher prices is higher prices”. That might be what’s happening to the airline industry. Bookings for US airlines dropped 17% last month as it gets more expensive to fly. Ticket revenue dipped as well, down 13%. 
After the pandemic, the phrase we kept hearing was “revenge travel”—and we certainly saw it. Overall demand for US tickets is still above 2019 levels. But April’s drop is the first piece of evidence that consumers are beginning to hesitate with prices that are 27% higher than 2019. 
Higher airfares reflect inflation. The 18% March-to-April jump was one of the largest increases in the entire CPI report. It was also the biggest monthly increase since 1963.
Fuel is a factor. So are more passengers on fewer routes. 
I’m Dave Spano from Annex Wealth Management.  That is your Know the Difference Minute.