3 reasons why Europe has cheaper airfares than the US - Sacramento Budget Travel
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As airfares for summer travel continue to increase in the US, many people may find that their summer vacations are becoming more expensive. As the US airline industry population continues to drop, so are the choices and competition for flights.
By now, many people have heard the news for summer travel - demand is up, supply is down, and airfares are up 20 percent or more for domestic and international travel in the US. Add the numerous airline fees and surcharges that are adding up for passengers and many people will find travel to be much more expensive than they anticipated.
However, are these airfare and airline fee increases happening everywhere? To compare, let's take a look at Europe and why air travel may be cheaper across the pond.
Overseas travel - Europe vs the US
Many people who vacation in Europe take flights from the US and see airfares that are continuing to rise. In checking recent flights to Europe, South American, and Asia from Sacramento, airfares were over $1000 to almost any destination overseas.
While there are some great deals, flying overseas is becoming more expensive. For countries like Europe, overseas travel can be expensive for them as well. In both the US and Europe, flying out of a major city (San Francisco or London) or second airport in a city (Oakland and Gatwick in London) can save you some money. However, many Europeans may face higher costs for international travel as well.
While overseas travel can be expensive, there are good deals as well. That's true for both domestic and international travel. However, the key to understanding the differences in travel between Europe and the US is domestic/intercontinental travel.
Why Europe is cheaper
So why is travel within Europe cheaper than travel within the US? Here are a few reasons:
1. Air travel regulations
When you fly in the US, you have a choice of a few airlines. You can select the major ones (American, United, Delta, Continental, US Air), the mid-range specialized ones with limited destinations (Alaska Air, Hawaiian Airlines), or the budget ones (Southwest, Jet Blue). What do these have in common? They are ALL US based airlines.
In Europe, they have an open-air policy in which airlines from other countries can fly you to places outside of their country. This means more routes, more competition, and lower fares. Foreign-based airlines can't fly domestic routes in the US. In Europe, they can. This means more distance for less money and competition means more options to popular cities.
What can the US learn from this? Maybe we need to to re-think our open-skies policy as the competition shrinks in the US airline industry.
2. Laws
Another factor for US airlines are the laws which put a heavy burden on the airline industry. Current laws limit foreign based ownership and how current airlines operate in the world. For many US airlines, this limits their ability to compete in the global airline industry. This means higher costs for US airlines, lower employment, and higher fares for consumers. European airlines have more freedom to compete and can keep their costs lower for operations.
3. Other transportation options
As a piece of the competition puzzle in Europe, airlines aren't the only way to travel. Europe has a wonderful train system in which people can travel to various countries and cities on high speed trains. While these take longer than air travel, many improvements have been made to get passengers to destinations quickly and comfortably. While overlooked by some, bus options in Europe are great, and cheap, as well.
In the US, a major train system works well for cities that are close in distance (like the Northeast). However, the US lacks a major transportation option for travel throughout the country. The trains and buses that are available are expensive and take much longer to reach destinations. Essentially, the airline industry has a monopoly on travel options in the US. This isn't the case in Europe. Hopefully, things are changing in the US with plans for high speed rail trains.
Hope for the future?
While air travel in the US remains expensive, there are a number of things being done to try and protect travelers. A recent airline bill of rights protects the amount of time people can remain on the tarmac.
And today, there is news of new legislation that increases the amounts passengers can receive for getting bumped, gives passengers a window of time to cancel flights without penalty, and makes sure airlines disclose fees clearly to passengers (U.S. Proposes Rules on Airline Tickets and Fees).
As airfares increase and the airline industry continues to struggle, let's hope that the airline industry will change and become more like Europe. Then we will see more affordable vacations and travel options. Maybe one day, we can take a Lufthansa flight from New York to Los Angeles.
Want to check out more articles on travel tips, travel guides, airport, and airline information? Check out the new lists at the bottom right of this page!
If you want to get an email anytime a new Budget Travel story is posted, just click on the Subscribe link above (no spamming and you can unsubscribe at any time). Now you can follow me on Twitter or on Facebook.
Share
As airfares for summer travel continue to increase in the US, many people may find that their summer vacations are becoming more expensive. As the US airline industry population continues to drop, so are the choices and competition for flights.
By now, many people have heard the news for summer travel - demand is up, supply is down, and airfares are up 20 percent or more for domestic and international travel in the US. Add the numerous airline fees and surcharges that are adding up for passengers and many people will find travel to be much more expensive than they anticipated.
However, are these airfare and airline fee increases happening everywhere? To compare, let's take a look at Europe and why air travel may be cheaper across the pond.
Overseas travel - Europe vs the US
Many people who vacation in Europe take flights from the US and see airfares that are continuing to rise. In checking recent flights to Europe, South American, and Asia from Sacramento, airfares were over $1000 to almost any destination overseas.
While there are some great deals, flying overseas is becoming more expensive. For countries like Europe, overseas travel can be expensive for them as well. In both the US and Europe, flying out of a major city (San Francisco or London) or second airport in a city (Oakland and Gatwick in London) can save you some money. However, many Europeans may face higher costs for international travel as well.
While overseas travel can be expensive, there are good deals as well. That's true for both domestic and international travel. However, the key to understanding the differences in travel between Europe and the US is domestic/intercontinental travel.
Why Europe is cheaper
So why is travel within Europe cheaper than travel within the US? Here are a few reasons:
1. Air travel regulations
When you fly in the US, you have a choice of a few airlines. You can select the major ones (American, United, Delta, Continental, US Air), the mid-range specialized ones with limited destinations (Alaska Air, Hawaiian Airlines), or the budget ones (Southwest, Jet Blue). What do these have in common? They are ALL US based airlines.
In Europe, they have an open-air policy in which airlines from other countries can fly you to places outside of their country. This means more routes, more competition, and lower fares. Foreign-based airlines can't fly domestic routes in the US. In Europe, they can. This means more distance for less money and competition means more options to popular cities.
What can the US learn from this? Maybe we need to to re-think our open-skies policy as the competition shrinks in the US airline industry.
2. Laws
Another factor for US airlines are the laws which put a heavy burden on the airline industry. Current laws limit foreign based ownership and how current airlines operate in the world. For many US airlines, this limits their ability to compete in the global airline industry. This means higher costs for US airlines, lower employment, and higher fares for consumers. European airlines have more freedom to compete and can keep their costs lower for operations.
3. Other transportation options
As a piece of the competition puzzle in Europe, airlines aren't the only way to travel. Europe has a wonderful train system in which people can travel to various countries and cities on high speed trains. While these take longer than air travel, many improvements have been made to get passengers to destinations quickly and comfortably. While overlooked by some, bus options in Europe are great, and cheap, as well.
In the US, a major train system works well for cities that are close in distance (like the Northeast). However, the US lacks a major transportation option for travel throughout the country. The trains and buses that are available are expensive and take much longer to reach destinations. Essentially, the airline industry has a monopoly on travel options in the US. This isn't the case in Europe. Hopefully, things are changing in the US with plans for high speed rail trains.
Hope for the future?
While air travel in the US remains expensive, there are a number of things being done to try and protect travelers. A recent airline bill of rights protects the amount of time people can remain on the tarmac.
And today, there is news of new legislation that increases the amounts passengers can receive for getting bumped, gives passengers a window of time to cancel flights without penalty, and makes sure airlines disclose fees clearly to passengers (U.S. Proposes Rules on Airline Tickets and Fees).
As airfares increase and the airline industry continues to struggle, let's hope that the airline industry will change and become more like Europe. Then we will see more affordable vacations and travel options. Maybe one day, we can take a Lufthansa flight from New York to Los Angeles.
Want to check out more articles on travel tips, travel guides, airport, and airline information? Check out the new lists at the bottom right of this page!
If you want to get an email anytime a new Budget Travel story is posted, just click on the Subscribe link above (no spamming and you can unsubscribe at any time). Now you can follow me on Twitter or on Facebook.
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