AAA expects July 2 to see the highest passenger volume at the nation's airports during the July 4th holiday weekend, and higher airfares this summer aren't dampening the urge to get out of town.
Domestic airfares jumped an average of 15% according to Kayak, as airlines look for ways to cover higher fuel costs since the start of the war in Iran disrupted oil supplies. Fees for baggage and premium seats are also up in some cases.
Savannah Butler is flying out of Tulsa International Airport to see family in Ohio. Needing to change her ticket added even more to the price.
"Prices are worse than they used to be, but they could be a lot worse," Butler said.
To keep her costs in check, Butler says she doesn't pay for premium seating.
"If you don't really care where you sit, it's a little cheaper because it's not like you're going to be on there forever," Butler said.
This trip, she's also skipping baggage fees.
"I'm actually meeting my mom in Ohio, and so she took my clothes in the suitcase, because she's driving, so all I have is my backpack, so I didn't have any fees for that," Butler said.
Trini Bousquet is heading to Austin and has noticed the added costs.
"They charge for everything now, and they even charge for the, a seat. So you buy a ticket, then you still have to pay for the seat and I don't like that," Bousquet said.
Bousquet says she knows prices aren't likely to fall anytime soon.
"I know, I know, nothing comes down. It always keeps going up. I'm going on another trip in October," Bousquet said.
That trip likely won't cost any less. Airline reporter for Skift, Meghna Maharishi, says even as fuel costs ease, travelers shouldn't expect airfares to follow.
"Even though as like the cost of fuel is going down for airlines, you can probably still expect those airfares to stay up. They're not gonna go down in tandem with those fuel prices. Uh, so, you know, I think airlines are hoping that they can hold on to a little bit of the pricing power they had gained from the war," Maharishi said.
She says airlines also have another financial incentive to keep price increases.
"Airlines, you know, they place their orders for fuel months in advance, and they also have an incentive to just offset those higher costs that they already had incurred since the war started," Maharishi said.
Despite the higher costs, demand remains strong.
"It doesn't seem like that is stopping demand necessarily. It seems as if people are still traveling," Maharishi said. "The consumer, you know, has not wavered, uh, despite the fact that, uh, the cost of flying is a little bit more expensive this year than it was last year."
She adds, don't expect the fees for extras like checked bags and premium seats to come down when fuel prices do, either.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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