by Elise Walsh – As you may know, gas prices are drastically rising- faster and earlier than past years. Gas prices will probably affect your road trip plans, but how much will it change the price tag on air travel? MSNBC reported 2011 as the year of nine fare increases with the airlines. That is nine successful out of twenty-two attempted increases!  This year looks like it is off to a rough spot with oil hovering over $100 per barrel. The past has brought us increased baggage fees, smaller seats and fuller planes. Those changes are here to stay, but how else will flights change?

Just for a little background, an article written by Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh describes that the oil industry is essentially an oilgopoly, a market is controlled by a small group of firms. OPEC is the cartel controlling 44 percent of the industry. In years past, their power of output restriction has sent oil prices on a roller coaster.

Jet fuel, like gasoline, is also controlled by oil costs. There are the planes to worry about, but disruption of one economic factor derails the rest of the airlines plan. It is a business and they want to make money. When airlines break even, prices must of course be raised money (yet they never seem to lower). So fliers must plan strategically to get the best bang for their buck.

There is always the conventional advice like: shop around for the best fare and order your ticket early. But there are also some interesting alternatives to consider. For instance if you’re planning on touring the world consider an Around-The-World style ticket, where you will have a series of one-way flights to get you where you want to go at a relevantly discounted rate. Another way to possibly reduce your flight price is to simply check out airfare at all airports in your area. You’d be surprised what deals you can find at even the smallest of airports. Make sure you do the math though. You still must keep the cost of driving to (and parking at) airports further from home in mind, even though the fares themselves are better. Another secret to getting the better deals is to start your adventure on the days less traveled (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturday).  And possibly some of the best advice I’ve seen is from IndependentTraveler.com who actually suggests asking for a refund if prices decrease after you purchased the ticket. Though every airline may not oblige, it cannot hurt to ask. Each airline has different policies you may benefit from.

The Department of Transportation recently implemented policies that protect travelers from the stack of hidden fees that are typically not shown in the online advertised price. In addition to some transparency changes, airlines are can no longer tact on fees after the sale of the ticket- If gas prices rise, to darn bad. You must be a diligent traveler these days. Don’t buy the first thing you see, and inspect every aspect of the agreement before your purchase.

Elise is double major, focusing on journalism and psychology in beautiful South Florida. She loves starting her day with Ashtanga Yoga and a morning run and ending it writing feature stories, especially about travel. She is an avid Social Media user, and a force to be reckoned with playing Tetris. You will someday find her in the South of France writing, eating, eating some more, and playing with her LED hula-hoop. 

The good news is that hotel rates are expected to go down in 2010. The bad news, on the other hand, is that airfare is expected to be on the rise during the same time period.

Hotel rates are expected to fall by 1%-4% for mid-range rates, and 3%-6% for upper-range rates. According to the provided article, the hotels are being forced to cut rates to try and draw customers back into the travel fold.

Demand for air travel is expected to rise in 2010 and the airline industry is looking to capitalize. They are able to take advantage when demand improves because they were able to cut flights during the recession period. According to American Express Business Travel, overall airfare prices will increase by up to 5% for short, economy flights, and 1%-6% for longer, business class flights.

Source: MSNBC